The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 313 which would enable domestic abuse victims with protection from abuse (PFA) orders to quickly get out of shared cell-phone contracts.
Bill supporters claim that access to a reliable, and secure cellular phone can be critical to domestic violence victims. Often, an abuser will arbitrarily terminate their victim’s phone service, or worse yet, use the joint plan to track down their victim. Senate Bill 313 would empower wireless companies to protect a victim’s phone service while quickly cutting the contractual tie.
In the case of the wireless account belonging to the defendant, a separate order would be sent to the wireless provider. The plaintiff would assume financial responsibility once their number is transferred to their own account.
The bill was referred to the House Judiciary committee on March 26, 2018.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 449 which allows for the use of a risk assessment tool during domestic violence arraignments.
The tool can be used to evaluate the risk of a defendant assaulting the victim while on bail. The Sentencing Commission is charged with developing a risk assessment tool that is free from racial or economic bias and to publish a report of validation prior to its utilization.
The bill was enacted as Act 14 of 2018.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 500, which would make police available to protect victims before, during and after protection orders are served.
This bill was referred to the House Judiciary committee on March 26.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 501 which would reform the process for third-party safekeeping as an option for domestic violence defendants who are ordered by the court to relinquish their firearms.
Under the bill, a person convicted of a crime resulting in a firearm disability could relinquish their firearms to their attorney, provided the attorney is not a relative.
This legislation re-grades the crime of failing to relinquish a firearm (under PFA orders) from a first-degree misdemeanor to the second degree. This bill also expands the time period to relinquish firearms from 24 to 48 hours.
The bill would allow an immediate family member of an individual who has relinquished firearms to petition a court to transfer the guns to that family member.
The bill was referred to the House Judiciary committee on March 26.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 502 which would allow courts to extend Protection from Abuse (PFA) orders for up to 90 days after the abuser is released from prison.
This bill was referred to the House Judiciary committee on March 26.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 761 which would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to allow each party’s candidate for Governor to select a running mate for Lieutenant Governor.
This bill was referred to the House State Government committee on March 26.
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The Senate approved Senate Bill 792 by a vote of 47-3. The bill would establish labeling requirements for lawn fertilizer. This includes standards on what nutrients the fertilizer should contain and how it should be applied.
This legislation would mandate that professional applicators of fertilizer be certified or acting under supervision of a certified professional. The bill would impose training and education requirements for professional fertilizer certification, which are under the oversight of the PDA (Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture).
This legislation spells out penalties for violations of content and labeling provisions. Violations can lead to one’s fertilizer certification being revoked.
The bill was referred to the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee on March 26.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 919, which amends the Housing Authorities Law to enable a victim of domestic or sexual violence to request an emergency transfer to relocate. The housing authority would be required to make a good faith effort to relocate the tenant to a safe and suitable dwelling under its control elsewhere.
This bill was referred to the House Urban Affairs committee on March 26.
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The Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1011 which amends the Pennsylvania Constitution to provide for rights of crime victims. These rights include:
- being treated with fairness and respect for the victim’s safety, dignity and privacy;
- reasonable and timely notice (when requested) and the opportunity to attend all public proceedings involving the criminal or delinquent;
- the right to be heard in any proceeding during which the right of the victim is implicated (Grand Jury proceedings would be exempt);
- reasonable protection from the accused or any person acting on behalf of the accused;
- upon request, reasonable notice of any release or escape by the accused;
- the right to refuse an interview, deposition or other discovery request made by the accused;
- full and timely restitution;
- assurance that proceedings be free from unreasonable delay and promptly concluded;
- the right to confer with the government’s attorney; and
- to be informed of all rights enumerated by this measure.
This legislation provides for these rights to be protected in a manner no less vigorous than the rights afforded to the accused.
This bill was referred to the House Judiciary committee on March 26.
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