Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parental Alienation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Judicial branch warns 60-day parental-alienation family access timeline would strain courts; committee advances amendment
Summary
The committee advanced an amendment that adds parental alienation as a basis for family-access motions with a 60-day statutory turnaround; the Judiciary's general counsel warned the change will increase filings, delay other cases and has a fiscal note that could require two new positions and additional costs.
The Senate Finance Committee advanced an amendment (17-87) and associated changes that add parental alienation as a statutory basis for filing family-access motions and create a 60-day statutory response timeline.
Jessica King, general counsel for the New Hampshire Judicial Branch (transcript label 7), told the committee the branch expects the new statutory timeline to increase the number of family-access motions and to delay other court matters that do not have statutory timelines. "We read this bill to add parental alienation as a basis to file a family access motion, which would require a 60 day turnaround from service of that motion," she said, and warned that meeting such timelines typically shifts scheduling pressure onto other case types.
King said the judicial branch updated its fiscal note to account for added workload and training: the branch asked for two additional positions (a case manager and a senior court operations specialist) costing roughly $175,000, plus additional indeterminable costs for forms changes, judge training and potential future judicial positions; the branch estimated an overall impact "over $100,000 under $500,000" in its updated materials. Committee members asked whether that fiscal estimate covered training and initial-year impacts given statutory timelines and the chair noted the effect in the first year may be reduced if cases cannot be filed until after January of the effective year.
After discussion, the committee voted to move the bill as "ought to pass as amended."
