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Panel advances bill requiring 15‑day hearing when parents are arrested in child‑safety cases
Summary
The subcommittee voted to send HB 2078 to full judiciary after the sponsor said the bill would require a hearing within 15 days and require the government to prove by clear and convincing evidence that children remaining in a home face imminent harm.
Chairman Farmer told the Children and Family Affairs subcommittee that HB 2078 would require a hearing within 15 days when parents are arrested and bond conditions could separate children from those parents. "[I]t would allow for or require that a hearing be conducted within 15 days and that the government would have to prove through clear and convincing evidence that those Children ... are in harm's way or in threat of harm," he said.
The sponsor described the measure as a safeguard so that children are not removed from their homes absent clear proof of threat. The amendment to clarify the "threat of harm" language was presented as non‑substantive cleanup; the committee approved the amended bill on a 4–0 vote and moved it to the full judiciary committee. No members raised questions before the vote, and the clerk announced "4 ayes, 0 nays."
