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Committee advances a slate of civil-law bills; several measures deferred for further work
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Summary
At its March 30 meeting the House Civil Law Committee reported multiple bills favorably (including HB 718, HB 134, HB 163, HB 170, HB 194, HB 254, HB 154, HB 81) and voluntarily deferred several complex family-law and constitutional measures for further drafting and study (HB 318, HB 970, HB 485, HB 473).
The House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure conducted a full agenda on March 30, forwarding several bills to the House floor and sending others back for additional work.
Bills the committee reported favorably (by unanimous consent unless noted): HB 718 (liability protections for landowners at private airstrips), HB 134 (material harmful to minors, as amended), HB 163 (recreational aviation liability), HB 170 (construction-contract forum provisions, as amended), HB 194 (preemptive periods for design professionals), HB 254 (acts of donation of motor vehicles, as amended), HB 154 (paternity/child-support updates studied by the Law Institute), and HB 81 (regulating trimming of overhanging branches/roots; amended to require licensed arborist work and notice procedures).
Measures voluntarily deferred for further consideration included HB 318 (presumption of paternity, amended to 150 days and deferred pending Law Institute study), HB 970 (competing custody orders; judges and associations urged more work), HB 485 (constitutional parental-rights amendment deferred so the Attorney General’s office can weigh in), and HB 473 (custody and child-support provisions, amended and deferred).
Several items featured public testimony: notaries and family-law attorneys described real-world consequences in elder‑abuse and custody cases; state law‑institute representatives and judges advised caution and recommended study for complex family-law changes; nonprofit and advocacy groups gave competing views on the parental‑rights amendment.
Committee chairs and members indicated a willingness to work with stakeholders before floor action. Many bills were advanced with the understanding that amendment language or technical fixes will be finalized before House consideration.
Votes at a glance (committee actions recorded March 30): - HB 718 — reported favorably (motion adopted; no objection) - HB 134 — amendment set 2,769 adopted; reported as amended - HB 410 — amendment set 2,713 adopted; reported as amended - HB 318 — amendment set 2,770 adopted; voluntarily deferred - HCR 19 — reported favorably (study to Law Institute) - HB 970 — voluntarily deferred - HB 163 — reported favorably - HB 170 — amendment set 2,605 adopted; reported as amended - HB 194 — reported favorably - HB 254 — amendment set 2,653 adopted; reported as amended - HB 485 — amendment set 2596 adopted; voluntarily deferred for AG review - HCR 6 — reported favorably - HB 154 — reported favorably - HB 81 — amendments adopted (set 1552); reported as amended - HB 473 — amendment set 2,280 adopted; voluntarily deferred
Next steps: Reported bills will be scheduled for House floor consideration; deferred bills will be revised, studied, or refiled for a later committee hearing.
