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House rejects proposal for state family-violence conference to improve implementation
Summary
H.B. 54, a bill to require family-violence conferences and agency training to improve implementation of domestic-violence policy, failed in the House by a 29–35 vote; sponsor said it was a low-cost approach after agencies resisted some mandatory provisions of prior law.
House Bill 54, carried by Representative Armond (Arman) Evans, was presented as a legislative response to implementation problems with the domestic-violence statute enacted in 1990. Evans said some criminal-justice agencies resisted mandatory separation provisions and that the bill would bring agencies together for a "family violence conference" to educate and promote consistent enforcement.
Evans told the chamber the task force had recommended a $35,000 fiscal note for training last year but that the bill offered a lower-cost approach by convening a conference for criminal-justice stakeholders. He said the committee had not unanimously recommended the bill in its original form and that resistance in local agencies had prompted the proposal.
After limited discussion and a request for questions, the House recorded the vote: H.B. 54 failed, receiving 29 yes votes and 35 no votes, and will be filed.
The sponsor framed the measure as intended to resolve implementation resistance and to educate judges, prosecutors and police agencies about the legislature's prior enactments.
