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Committee approves substitute to let military protective orders support state protective orders
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Summary
The committee adopted a substitute for House Bill 4366 to allow military protective orders (MPOs) issued by commanding officers to be treated as sufficient evidence for magistrates to issue emergency domestic violence protective orders and temporary personal safety orders while the MPO remains in effect; the bill was reported to the full Senate and referred to Judiciary.
The Senate Military Committee adopted a committee substitute for House Bill 4366, a measure that would allow military protective orders (MPOs) issued by commanding officers in the U.S. Armed Forces or the National Guard to be treated as sufficient evidence for certain state protective orders.
Senate intern Malia McCann Coles presented the bill, saying it “authorizes a military protective order, otherwise known as an MPO, issued against the person by a commanding officer in the U.S. Armed Forces or the National Guard to be treated as a sufficient evidence for the issuance of certain protective orders in the state court system.” Under the substitute, magistrates may rely on an MPO that remains in effect to issue emergency domestic violence protective orders and temporary personal safety orders when the MPO was issued because the petitioner reported domestic abuse, stalking, or repeated credible threats of bodily injury.
The bill also directs law-enforcement officers who arrest a service member and determine an MPO was issued and there is probable cause of a violation to notify the agency that entered the MPO of the circumstances of the arrest. Counsel told the committee the substitute clarifies defined terms, rewrites law-enforcement language for clarity, and makes technical corrections.
Senator from Greenbrier asked whether an MPO alone requires going to a magistrate to obtain a state personal safety order; presenter and counsel confirmed that the MPO would serve as the basis for issuing an emergency protective order, and magistrates are permitted to treat such MPOs as sufficient evidence in the specified circumstances. Junior senator from the fifth moved adoption of the strike-and-insert amendment and to report the engrossed committee substitute to the full Senate with a referral to the Judiciary Committee; the motions passed by voice vote.
The committee adopted the substitute and reported the bill to the full Senate for further consideration.