Committee advances ‘Alec and Lydia Act’ to make domestic‑violence findings central in custody decisions
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Summary
Lawmakers advanced HB 29‑95 to elevate domestic violence — including coercive control and strangulation — as a dominant factor in parenting‑time and legal‑decision‑making. A survivor, Hope Hooten, testified that gaps in how family courts assess domestic abuse contributed to her children's deaths, and sponsors said the bill improves child safety and judicial clarity.
The Arizona House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 17 voted to advance House Bill 29‑95, renamed the Alec and Lydia Act, which would make domestic‑violence findings a dominant factor in family‑court decisions about custody and parenting time.
Representative Lisa Fink, sponsor, said stakeholders and family‑court judges asked for clearer statutory guidance because domestic violence was previously addressed unevenly in custody statutes. The bill broadens the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control — such as financial control, isolation and technological surveillance — and moves the matter from a narrowly defined "significant domestic violence" threshold to a broader domestic‑violence standard when courts evaluate legal decision‑making and parenting time.
Hope Hooten, mother of Alec and Lydia, gave emotional testimony describing years of coercive control and non‑fatal strangulation, and said family‑court procedures did not adequately evaluate strangulation and acute psychiatric instability before granting unsupervised parenting time. Hooten said her children were killed during an unsupervised parenting period and urged lawmakers to pass the bill to provide courts new tools to evaluate danger earlier.
The committee adopted a 12‑page Powell amendment and returned the bill with a due‑pass recommendation (8 ayes, 1 present). Several members asked the sponsor to continue stakeholder discussions focused on VAWA implications and cross‑system implementation; Representative Garcia said she was present rather than voting because she wanted to consult further on particular provisions.
The bill will move to the House floor for further consideration. Sponsor materials say the change is intended to prioritize child safety and give judges clearer statutory direction for weighing domestic‑violence evidence in custody disputes.
