Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Victim Notification topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances bill expanding victim notice to include protection-order violations and Safe at Home referrals
Summary
The House Public Safety, Finance and Policy Committee recommended House File 1998, a crime‑victim notification bill, be placed on the general register after adopting an author’s A2 amendment that expands required victim notice and adds a referral to the state’s Safe at Home program.
The House Public Safety, Finance and Policy Committee recommended House File 1998, a crime-victim notification bill, be placed on the general register after adopting an author’s A2 amendment that adds additional categories of required victim notice and clarifies delivery methods.
The bill, sponsored by Representative Rearick, would expand existing crime‑victim notice requirements so prosecutors must notify victims when they decide not to file charges for violations that include an order for protection (OFP), a harassment restraining order, or a domestic‑abuse no‑contact order. Suzanne Elwell, director of the Crime Victim Justice Unit in the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), said the changes “expand the types of crimes where a prosecutor must notify a victim when they decide to decline to file charges.”
The changes also shift responsibility for juvenile‑court notice to prosecutors, require that notice at the start of a case rather than only at court proceedings, and clarify that law‑enforcement victim information cards may be provided electronically. Nicole Freeman, government relations director for the Secretary of State’s office, told the committee the author’s amendment adds language to alert victims to the Safe at Home address‑confidentiality program, which her office administers, and said survivors have told her they “wish they would have known about the program sooner.”
During the hearing Rearick described the bill as “OJP policy” that makes “simple changes that are really good for victims,” and invited OJP officials to testify. Elwell emphasized the bill’s technical fixes and a separate notice for homicide victims, saying the additional information required of homicide‑victim notice “is a separate notice, beyond the victim information card and is not and should not be included on that card.”
Committee members voiced bipartisan support before the committee adopted the A2 amendment and approved the motion to place the bill on the general register. The record shows no roll‑call vote; the chair stated that “the motion prevails.”
What happens next: The bill will be placed on the general register and remains eligible for further floor action. Because the committee adopted the A2 amendment adding Safe at Home language, the Secretary of State’s office will be a stakeholder to work with as the bill moves forward.
Votes at a glance: The committee adopted the A2 amendment (A2 adopted) and passed the committee motion to place House File 1998 on the general register (motion prevailed). No roll‑call tallies were provided in the transcript.
