HB 24-1122 Summary

• Expands definition of domestic abuse to explicitly include domestic violence, mental/emotional abuse, financial control, document control, and property control that make victims likely to return to abusers.

• Broadens civil protection order standards by replacing "imminent danger to life or health" with "risk or threat of physical harm or psychological/emotional harm" to cover a wider range of threats.

• Adds new provisions allowing courts to award temporary care and control of minor children and interim decision-making responsibility in protection orders for up to one year without requiring a separate family court case.

• Creates new authority for courts to transfer wireless telephone service accounts and numbers from account holders to petitioners in domestic violence, sexual violence, or stalking cases.

• Eliminates filing fees and most court costs for domestic abuse victims seeking protection orders, and ensures protection orders are written in plain language.