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Committee advances bill to provide immunity for victims who seek law enforcement help, adds definition of "predominant aggressor"
Summary
The committee approved House Bill 464, aimed at granting immunity for victims who in good faith seek law enforcement assistance, and adopted an amendment defining "predominant aggressor" to narrow applicability; the measure was sent to the Rules calendar.
Representative Bell presented House Bill 464, saying the bill "helps protect victims of [sexual/domestic] violence and aggravated violence in general" and "provides immunity for our victim when they're reporting a violent crime so that, we can both provide safety and reduce visual anti justice."
Committee members proposed and adopted an amendment by Representative Hong that inserts a definition of "predominant aggressor" to clarify that immunity applies to a person "who poses the most serious ongoing threat, which may not be the initial aggressor in a specific incident." The amendment also moved the current subsection down and clarified that the immunity applies to a person "who in good faith seeks the assistance of law enforcement while being a victim and is not the predominant aggressor."
Supporters said defining "predominant aggressor" was intended to reduce ambiguity about who acted in good faith and to preserve prosecutorial discretion. One member observed that the statute's good-faith standard is used elsewhere in state law to provide safe harbor for reporters of child abuse and similar protections.
After debate and the amendment vote, the committee voted to advance House Bill 464, as amended, to the Rules calendar.
