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Committee amends and advances bill extending wrongful-death presumption period from two to three years
Summary
House Bill 1528, sponsored by Chairman Bosa, was amended to extend from two to three years the period after which a surviving spouse living apart may be presumed to have withdrawn from the marriage for wrongful-death recovery purposes; the committee passed the amended bill 17-4.
Chairman Bosa sponsored House Bill 1528, which would extend from two to three years the time a surviving spouse must have been living apart before a rebuttable presumption arises that the spouse "willfully withdrew from the marriage" and may be deprived of participation in a wrongful-death recovery. Bosa summarized the statute’s current effect and said the extension is intended to better protect surviving spouses and their families; he told members he would not oppose further extensions to four or five years but presented three years as a first step.
Members asked for clarification about prior amendments and whether language previously addressing personhood remained in the bill; Bosa confirmed that personhood language had been removed. After questions and the adoption of a drafting-code amendment, the clerk reported 17 ayes and 4 nays and the bill passed as amended and was referred to judiciary.
