Legislation, Policy Reform & Activism
"Justice is truth in action."
UNITED STATES
Child Support and Family Law Legislation Database
Child Support and Family Law Legislation Database including filed bills pertaining to child support and family law. Search passed, pending and failed legislation from 2012-2022 by state, year, topic, keyword, status, and/or primary sponsor. Topics relate to custody and visitation, grandparent custody and visitation, custody and visitation issues affecting military parents, economic stability, child support enforcement, family violence collaboration, father engagement, child support guidelines, health care coverage, parentage, prevention, healthy family relationships, implementation, and other related issues.
Bill information for the current year is updated every morning on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. New measures are added as they are introduced or identified by NCSL staff.
Bill information for the current year is updated every morning on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. New measures are added as they are introduced or identified by NCSL staff.
State Legislation - United States
- 2022 - The Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence Act aka Kayden's Law is Passed via the Violence Against Women's Act
- 2021 - September 3, 2021: Governor Newsom Signs California's Senate Bill (SB) 654 into Law - Press Release
- 2021 - Florida's Greyson's Law - More information coming soon.
- 2021 - New Louisiana Coercive Control Legislation - The sponsor, Rep. Malinda White, is an abuse survivor. Louisiana House Bill 159
- 2021 - Kyra's Law - New York Assembly Bill A5398 - Kyra's Law would make the health and safety of the child the top priority when determining child custody in divorces or separations. (Support Kyra's Law)
- 2020/21 - Connecticut Child Safety First Bill - Jennifer’s Law (Press Release)
- 2020/21 - Pennsylvania Senate Bill SB868 - Kayden’s Law - Kayden's Law would ensure that, in the future, the primary consideration in any child custody dispute will be the health and safety of the child. ... In January 2021, SB 78 moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with a unanimous vote.
- 2020 - Coercive Control in California - Senate Bill No. 1141 - An act to amend Section 6320 of the Family Code, relating to coercive control. Approved by Governor September 29, 2020. Filed with Secretary of State September 29, 2020.
- 2020 - Coercive Control in Hawaii - H.B. 2425 - Governor David Ige of Hawaii signed HB 2425 into law on September 15, 2020. The bill states, “domestic abuse protective orders to include emotional abuse between family or household members.” Hawaii's coercive control bill was inspired by the bill passed in 2009 in Scotland.
- 2018 - Pennsylvania House Bill HB2058 - Improving Custody and Visitation Adjudications In Cases of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence
- 2018 - New Hampshire H.B. 583 - If there is evidence of domestic violence, child abuse, or neglect the child's wishes shall be considered pursuant to RSA 461-A:6 and the child's safety and rights shall be the first priority in the determination of parenting time.
- 2018 - California - Assembly Bill No. 2044 - An act to amend Sections 3011, 3020, 3044, and 3100 of the Family Code, and to amend Section 68555 of the Government Code, relating to domestic violence.
- 2018 - California HR-113
Federal Legislation - United States
- 2018 - Congressional House Resolution 72 - Expressing the sense of Congress that child safety is the first priority of custody and visitation adjudications, and that State courts should improve adjudications of custody where family violence is alleged.
AUSTRALIA - New South Wales
February 2021: Several countries, including Scotland, France, England, Wales, & Ireland, have adopted Coercive Control laws over the last decade. In response, 2 states—first Hawaii (inspired by Scotland) & then California (Sept 2020) —have recently taken the groundbreaking step of passing the nation’s first laws against coercive control. This week, a new 3-day inquiry began to explore the introduction of new coercive control legislation in New South Wales, Australia. May this be the beginning of the adoption of new legislation across the globe.
"There are predictable behaviors used by abusers. ―There are neurobiological changes & injuries that we can see and measure. These injuries can last a lifetime and can have a huge financial impact after the relationship has ended. The process of coercive control is an active one. ―It's well planned and sustained. It occurs all of the time, even if there is physical distance. So it is this behavior we are saying needs to be made illegal. ―Unfortunately, our legal system as it stands today perpetuates the fear and exacerbates the state of utter helplessness that coercive control induces. It's a system that repeatedly fails to keep women safe. Despite the fact that there can be a clearly defined and known perpetrator, the system is a failure. ―It starts slow and gets persistently worse. The more control they get, the worse it becomes. The more they get away with, the more obsessed with the control they get. Legislation will act to deter this. To leave the system as it is now is not only negligent, it is an act of complicity in the ongoing abuses of women and children." - Dr. Karen Williams, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, NSW Select Committee into Coercive Control, February 22, 2021