Legislation Will Stem Domestic Violence, Lesser Says

House lawmakers approved legislation Wednesday that will strengthen Connecticut's domestic violence laws in a number of ways. The legislation is sponsored by state Rep. Matt Lesser, who represents Durham, Middlefield and Middletown.

“Almost one out of every three criminal court cases involves domestic violence. This bill strengthens our justice system to assure that we protect the victims of these crimes,” said Lesser. “I have heard wrenching stories from survivors of domestic violence who live in Durham, Middlefield, and Middletown. I am proud we are taking strong action to protect them.”

The legislation (HB 6629) was recommended by the Speaker’s Task Force on Domestic Violence. The task force held a series of meetings and public hearings over the past year to hear from domestic violence advocacy groups, survivors, law enforcement professionals including prosecutors and judges, about ways the state could augment domestic violence reforms enacted last year.

The legislation expands the ability of victims who have experienced a pattern of threatening or stalking to request a restraining order, and clarifies that people of any age, including teens, can request a restraining order to protect them from a partner who has subjected them to abuse.

The bill also fixes a contradiction in state law that currently exempts people in dating relationships from arrest when a domestic violence crime is committed, so that police have clear authority to make such arrests.

The task force heard concerns about a lack of timely response from law enforcement to restraining order violations. To improve response time, courts will be authorized to issue a standing post-trial criminal protective order for certain offenses against children, which will promote more timely and lawful arrests of those in violation.

This legislation will also improve access to domestic violence services by requiring police officers to provide victims with information about their regional domestic violence program so they can obtain trauma-informed counseling and other emergency services.

The bill will allow families of victims of domestic violence to receive restitution like that provided to families of other crime victims. It also requires offenders to surrender their firearms to police or sell them to a federally-licensed firearms dealer if the offender is barred from possessing them due to a restraining or protective order.

The bill also requires judicial branch staff to disclose to the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) information indicating if a defendant poses a threat to a child. It also permits judicial branch family relations counselors to disclose information about a defendant to pretrial programs to ensure they provide appropriate services and to adult probation officers to ensure appropriate sentencing.

This is the second bill passed by the legislature to address domestic violence issues this year. Last month the legislature approved a bill requiring bail bond agents to charge the full premium and stop the practice of undercutting. Undercutting occurs when bail bond agents compete for business by illegally discounting the premium due on a bond and do not charge their clients the statutorily required amount. As a result, defendants post bond at rates lower than what the state requires and are released back into the community, sometimes without any “cooling off” period.