Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Committee advances testimony for HB 191, which would penalize assaults witnessed by children
Summary
Prosecutors and victim-service organizations urged passage of HB 191 to recognize children who witness domestic assault as victims and to add penalties; witnesses emphasized 'predominant aggressor' safeguards and training to reduce wrongful arrests.
Representative Curtis Schomer introduced House Bill 191, saying children exposed to family or partner assaults suffer traumatic, long-term harms and that the statute should acknowledge those harms by penalizing assaults committed in a child’s presence. "Endangering children cannot go unnoticed," Schomer said.
Ben Halverson, a domestic-violence prosecutor in Billings, described the cascading harms that witnessing intrafamilial assault can have on children and urged the…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
