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Committee prints bill aimed at keeping children with family by clarifying removal authority; some members caution against limiting police authority to remove ab
Summary
Representative Barbara Ehart presented RS 32074 C1, a draft that revises juvenile removal procedures to favor keeping children with family where safe and to replace 'protective order' terminology; members asked for hearings and urged clarity that the bill not reduce police authority to remove dangerous offenders from homes.
Representative Barbara Ehart presented RS 32074 C1, a draft revision intended to change how and when children are removed from homes. The sponsor said the text arose from work with a sitting judge and other stakeholders after concerns that children were sometimes removed too quickly, making reunification harder.
Ehart said the draft replaces the term "Protective Orders" with "Order to Prevent Removal" in several places to reduce confusion and to clarify the procedures judges and practitioners should follow. The aim, she said, is to allow removal of an offending parent when appropriate rather than routinely removing the child from the home, preserving family placement when it is safe.
Several committee members expressed support for moving the draft to a hearing but pressed the sponsor to ensure the language does not unintentionally remove law enforcement's existing ability to remove abusers from homes without a court order in imminent-danger situations. One member said she would not vote against print but would not support the bill on final passage unless it clearly preserved authorities that prioritize removing the abuser rather than the victim.
Sponsor and other committee members said they would invite Judge Ellis and Jason Spielman, who helped craft the draft, to testify at the hearing and to answer technical questions about when officers may remove an alleged offender and when a court order process should control.
A motion to introduce RS 32074 C1 carried unanimously. The sponsor and supporters requested a public hearing to bring subject-matter experts and the judge to the committee.
Votes at the committee introduction: Motion to introduce RS 32074 C1 — moved by Representative Heather Scott; outcome: motion carried unanimously (vote counts not specified in the transcript).
