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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 15, 2015 11:21 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Kevin J. Boyle |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Hiding Plaintiffs’ and Defendants’ Social Security Numbers in PFA Cases |
| In the very near future, I plan to re-introduce legislation – House Bill 1978 – that will amend Title 23 (Domestic Relations), Section 6112 (Disclosure of Addresses), of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes for the purpose of expanding upon court disclosure prohibitions of personal information for Protection from Abuse (PFA) orders. Under current law, courts have the option to discern whether a defendant poses a threat of continued danger to the plaintiff and subsequently issue an order not to disclose a plaintiff’s address, telephone number, and whereabouts to law enforcement, human services agencies, and school districts. In addition, a court or hearing officer may not require disclosure of the address of a domestic violence program during proceedings. However, my proposal takes disclosure prohibitions of personal information a step further. Specifically, my legislation would prohibit the court or hearing officer from disclosing a social security number of a plaintiff, a plaintiff’s family member, a defendant, or a defendant’s family member during the course of a PFA order proceeding. Additionally, while my proposal protects plaintiffs, it also provides protection for defendants. In order to prevent further abuse, as sometimes an abuser counter-files his or her own PFA against a victim, the court has the option of discerning whether the plaintiff poses a threat of continued danger to the defendant. If the court determines there is a threat, the court may enter an order directing law enforcement, human services agencies, and school districts not to disclosure the defendant’s address, telephone number, and whereabouts. As public officials, I believe it is our duty to help protect personal information during the course of domestic violence proceedings. It is my sincere hope that you will join me in helping support victims of domestic abuse by co-sponsoring this legislation. |