General Assembly Proposed Bill No. 77
January Session, 2021 LCO No. 257
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
SEN. KASSER, 36th Dist.
AN ACT CONCERNING FAMILY COURT PROCEEDINGS INVOLVING
ALLEGATIONS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
1 That: (1) Chapter 46b of the general statutes be amended to establish
2 a definition of domestic violence that includes coercive control and is
3 applicable to all family relations matters; (2) section 46b-40 of the
4 general statutes be amended to provide that a decree of dissolution of a
5 marriage or a decree of legal separation includes coercive control and
6 shall be granted upon a finding that domestic violence has been
7 perpetrated by one party against the other; (3) section 46b-56 of the
8 general statutes be amended to provide that in any family relations
9 matter involving the care and custody of a minor child, the court shall
10 be required to conduct an initial inquiry into whether domestic violence
11 has occurred between the parties, or between a parent and a child, prior
12 to examining the other statutory factors used to make a determination
13 as to what is in the best interests of a child; and (4) sections 46b-15 and
14 46b-16a of the general statutes be amended to permit an individual to
15 electronically file an application for a restraining order or a civil order
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 Proposed Bill No. 77
16 of protection.
Statement of Purpose:
To: (1) Identify, address and adjudicate the full scope of domestic abuse,
domestic violence and child abuse cases in family court; (2) prevent the
escalation and continuation of abuse in such cases; and (3) identify and
protect the victims of such violence and abuse at the earliest stage
possible.
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