Votes at a glance: Judiciary committee advances series of bills on bail, child protection, courts and public notices

The Senate Judiciary Committee on March 12 voted on a package of bills covering bail procedures, penalties for violent offenses against children, deadlines for child abuse prosecutions, court filing fees, public‑notice rules and sexual‑assault evidence for minors. Most measures were advanced to the Senate calendar or referred to committee for fiscal review.

Votes and brief descriptions (committee action):

- Senate Bill 12 02 (bond exoneration procedures, amendment 45‑24): Committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill as amended to the calendar (recorded roll call: 9 ayes). Sponsor described a process for judges to hear petitions by professional bondsmen seeking release from obligations after demonstrating “good faith efforts” to locate defendants.

- Senate Bill 6 93 (increase penalty for intentionally injuring a child): Reported to Finance (9 ayes). Sponsor said the measure treats intentional injury of a child as a felony and maintains enhanced penalties for the youngest victims.

- Senate Bill 10 70 (extension of criminal and civil windows for child sexual‑abuse cases): Reported to the calendar (8 ayes, 1 present). The bill would extend prosecution and civil‑suit timelines for certain offenses to 30 years for crimes committed on or after July 1, 2025.

- Senate Bill 10 89 (increasing a $1 court cost to $2 to fund municipal judge training): Reported to Finance (9 ayes). Sponsor said the Administrative Office of the Courts requested the increase to restore funding for training.

- Senate Bill 12 33 (fentanyl sentencing and related provisions; committee amendments adopted): Reported to Finance (9 ayes). The committee adopted committee amendment 4,908 (adding a mandatory minimum 30‑day sentence for fentanyl possession with some treatment alternatives) and a second amendment (penalty enhancements for assaulting first responders) and advanced the bill.

- Senate Bill 4 33 (removing the word “unreasonably” from the criminal animal‑abandonment statute): Reported to the calendar (9 ayes); sponsor said the change is intended to make enforcement clearer for magistrates.

- Senate Bill 7 27 (changes to foreclosure public‑notice posting; amendment adopted): Reported to the calendar (5 ayes, 4 noes). The committee approved an amendment that transitions some required printed notices to online posting and reduces the number of printed notices in some circumstances; the sponsor said the amendment preserves private‑market posting and requires third‑party posting services to be registered with the Secretary of State.

- Senate Bill 9 20 (minor victim access to sexual‑assault evidence collection and extension of reporting duties): Reported to the calendar as amended (8 ayes). Sponsor said the change clarifies that forensic evidence collection for minors may proceed without parental consent while mandatory reporting to DCS and law enforcement still applies.

Several other bills were discussed and rolled or scheduled for future consideration. Where committee roll calls were recorded in the transcript, those tallies are reported above; if a roll call was not recorded in the transcript excerpt, the committee reported the measure by voice vote or unanimous consent according to the secretary’s notes.

For reporters: committee sponsors said they will seek follow‑up documents where requested (fiscal notes, AG opinions, or clarifying language) before bills reach the floor.