SB 2343 Summary

• Creates three degrees of abuse of family or household members with escalating penalties: first degree (class C felony for strangulation or abuse in presence of minor under 14), second degree (misdemeanor with mandatory minimum jail sentences of 48 hours for first offense and 30 days for repeat offenses within 5 years), and third degree (petty misdemeanor for offensive physical contact with intent to harass or annoy).

• Requires courts to convert no-contact and stay-away orders issued in criminal domestic violence cases to new protective orders lasting a fixed reasonable period unless the victim requests otherwise, preventing orders from expiring when criminal jurisdiction ends.

• Expands family court jurisdiction to include harassment cases involving former dating relationships and allows family courts to try non-physical harassment cases even without an abuse charge, subjecting offenders to court-ordered domestic violence intervention programs and parenting classes.

• Requires defendants to complete court-ordered domestic violence intervention programs and parenting classes within specified timeframes; failure to comply results in maximum incarceration terms and, for deferred plea cases, setting aside the deferred acceptance.

• Allows deferred acceptance of guilty or nolo contendere pleas for misdemeanor abuse of family or household members in the second degree when the defendant has no prior domestic violence convictions, with the deferred acceptance set aside if domestic violence programs are not completed.