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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 27, 2020 11:15 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Steven C. Mentzer |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Service of Emergency Protection from Abuse Orders |
| Just last session, we worked together to pass bi-partisan legislation that increased the protections necessary to ensure the safety of domestic violence abuse victims. This legislation ultimately became law through Act 79 of 2018. However, recently a constituent brought to my attention a technical error in the Act. The Act allows the Court of Common Pleas judges to require police officers to serve the order of protection on the abuser, but it does not extend the same authority to Magisterial District judges when they issue an emergency protection from abuse order on nights or weekends. In the near future, I intend to introduce legislation to correct this error which will vest the authority to Magisterial District judges to order police officers to serve emergency protection from abuse orders on the defendant/abuser in circumstances where the plaintiff/victim believes that his or her safety is in jeopardy. This bill is a technical correction to a service of protection from abuse order only and will not be expanded beyond this narrow technical correction. For these reasons, I urge you to join me in sponsoring this critical legislation. |
Introduced as HB1955