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Senate committee advances bill allowing workplaces to seek protective orders
Summary
The Senate State Affairs Committee advanced a revised Senate Bill 49 to allow employers and certain organizations to petition for workplace violence protective orders; committee adopted a committee substitute and reported the bill out with individual recommendations and a fiscal note.
The Senate State Affairs Committee on April 10 advanced a committee substitute to Senate Bill 49, which would allow employers and certain organizations to seek workplace violence protective orders to protect employees, residents and staff. Committee members voted to forward the bill with individual recommendations and an attached fiscal note.
Supporters told the committee the measure would give domestic violence shelters, employers and other workplaces an additional civil tool to restrict threatening individuals’ access to a facility or staff. Brianna Kekaruk, staff to sponsor Senator Klayman, said the substitute narrows the bill and removes a provision allowing attorney fees to be awarded against petitioners in related proceedings.
The measure, as described to the committee, would prohibit the award of attorney fees against petitioners in domestic violence restraining order proceedings, stalking and assault protective orders, and ex parte protective orders. Kekaruk said the statutes affected are listed in the draft explanation distributed to the committee.
Senators raised questions about how often judges award attorney fees in these cases and whether removing the threat of fee awards could create a flood of new petitions or chill legitimate filings. Senator Wilkowski asked for and received an estimate that fee awards are rare; Kekaruk said their office had heard of some assessed fees but that such orders are not commonly found to be frivolous. Wilkowski expressed concern about avoiding unintended consequences but said she did not want a “chilling effect” that would deter victims from seeking protection.
Domestic violence shelter operators from Anchorage and Utqiagvik testified in favor. Brandy Breager, executive director of AWAKE (Abuse Women’s Aid in Crisis) in Anchorage, described incidents in which alleged perpetrators returned to shelter grounds after arrest and said shelter staff and residents face heightened risks. Cheryl Hummey, representing an Arctic-area shelter, said workplace protective orders would deter trespassers and provide legal protections staff and participants currently lack.
Committee Vice Chair Senator Bjorkman moved to report the committee substitute for SB 49 out of committee with individual recommendations and an attached fiscal note. After no objections, the measure was forwarded from committee.
The committee did not adopt further substantive changes on the floor; staff noted the bill will proceed to additional committee work. The record shows the committee substitute as the working document moving forward.
