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Council adopts program to provide legal representation for low‑income domestic‑violence survivors in divorce cases
Summary
Intro 11‑75a directs the Office to End Domestic and Gender‑Based Violence to establish a program (subject to appropriation) providing brief legal assistance and full legal representation to income‑eligible survivors during divorce proceedings; the council allocated $2 million in the FY2026 budget to launch the initiative.
The council approved Intro 11‑75a to create, subject to appropriation, a program administered by the Office to End Domestic and Gender‑Based Violence that will provide both brief legal assistance and full legal representation to income‑eligible survivors of domestic violence in divorce proceedings.
Council Member Julie Menon, sponsor of the bill, told colleagues the program would help up to 800 low‑income survivors by covering legal costs and assisting with discovery and complex filings. Menon said the women's caucus secured approximately $2,000,000 in the FY2026 budget to launch the initiative and emphasized the program’s equity and public‑safety rationale.
The bill was amended and coupled on general orders and adopted as part of the general‑orders calendar. The transcript indicates the council reported the committee action and included the item in the adopted items list on the general orders calendar.
The enacted requirement is subject to appropriation; the transcript documents the FY2026 allocation referenced by sponsors but does not provide implementation deadlines or details about how legal services will be procured or administered. Menon and other sponsors thanked staff and legal drafters who worked on the measure.
