Senate passes UCCJEA bill to keep Massachusetts custody orders under home-state control

The Massachusetts Senate on a roll call vote approved An Act Relative to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, Senate No. 2550, moving the bill to be engrossed after adopting a Ways and Means amendment.

Supporters said the measure would "bring Massachusetts in line with every other state in the country by adopting the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act." Sponsor remarks said the UCCJEA is intended to prevent forum shopping when a custodial parent moves out of state and to avoid forcing the left-behind parent to travel and litigate in another state.

The bill’s sponsor said the UCCJEA gives a state that first exercises jurisdiction continued exclusive jurisdiction over custody disputes so long as a parent or child remains in that state; she contrasted that with current Massachusetts law, which she said "relinquishes jurisdiction over our own custody orders to the home state of the custodial parent and child after six months of residency in the new state." The sponsor called that the Commonwealth’s current approach "a significant burden to place on the remaining parent in Massachusetts."

The sponsor told the chamber the bill was adjusted after consultations with the family law community and domestic violence advocates: among the changes, the legislation allows courts to permit remote testimony, protects custodial parents who return to Massachusetts for proceedings, and aligns the definition of domestic violence with the definition under M.G.L. c. 209A. A Ways and Means amendment described on the floor as adopting a new draft was adopted before the final vote.

A senator who identified himself as seeking information asked whether the bill was based on a model act and whether its constitutionality had been challenged in other states; the sponsor confirmed the legislation follows the usual UCCJEA model with that one Massachusetts-specific change and said she was not aware of successful constitutional challenges in other jurisdictions.

After questions and a brief discussion, a roll call was taken. The clerk recorded the votes; the clerk announced that a sufficient number of senators voted in the affirmative and the bill "is passed to be engrossed." The roll-call sequence on the record showed multiple senators recorded as "yes." The clerk announced that 39 members voted in the affirmative and none in the negative.

The bill now goes forward as amended for further legislative processing.

The Senate also adopted several congratulatory resolutions earlier in the session and recessed subject to the call of the chair before taking up other matters.