Committee advances family-court bill to require domestic-violence findings before parental responsibility decisions

Sponsor told the committee HB26-13-09 is intended to give judges clearer, sequential statutory guidance so that family courts prioritize safety when domestic violence is alleged. The sponsor said the bill consolidates existing statutory duties into an ordered framework and directs courts to make a finding, by a preponderance of the evidence, whether domestic violence or coercive control occurred before moving to the best-interest analysis for allocating parental responsibilities.

Proponents — including attorneys who practice family law, retired judges, clinicians, and multiple survivor witnesses — described cases in which they said evidence of abuse was minimized or displaced by routine preference for shared parenting, leaving children and survivors exposed. A retired district judge testified the bill mostly codifies existing law into clearer procedure and sets the preponderance standard for findings so less-experienced judicial officers have a reliable path.

Opponents, including representatives of the Colorado Catholic Conference, urged the committee to remove or refine section 2 language on coercive control and monitoring, arguing the definitions could sweep in ordinary parenting choices or religiously motivated decisions and risk stripping parental rights without adequate safeguards.

The sponsor offered an amendment to remove prescriptive language that required individual therapy modality in one section so treatment modality would be determined by the domestic violence evaluation; the committee approved the amendment 3–1. After debate and argument about definitions and scope, the committee moved the bill to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation.

Next steps: HB26-13-09 proceeds to the Committee of the Whole for further consideration.