Bills to provide domestic abuse protections
State Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane Township, this week introduced two bills designed to provide greater protections for domestic abuse victims, their families and the first responders responding to domestic disturbances.
“Domestic violence incidents are among the most dangerous and volatile situations experienced by families and law enforcement,” Neuman said.
Neuman said H.B. 1099 would require law enforcement be involved from the start when a protection-from-abuse order is issued, and only law enforcement would be allowed to serve the orders.
His second measure, H.B. 1100, would require a hearing on a PFA petition’s merits be heard within three business days rather than 10 unless an extension is needed, and a PFA order be served within 24 hours of issuance.
“Not having a set time frame in which the PFA must be served on a defendant is a glaring defect in the protections that abuse victims deserve,” Neuman said. “My bill would also put petition hearings on faster track, as they so often deserve.”
Neuman, a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the Judicial Commission on Sentencing, said allowing victims or their family members to serve protective orders and not having a set time frame to serve such orders were identified in a 2016 Joint State Government Commission report as exceptionally dangerous deficiencies.