HBA-LJP S.B. 68 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 68 By: Moncrief Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 3/18/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, an adult member of a family or household and any adult for the protection of a child may file for an application for an order of protection against family violence from another person in the family or household. According to the 1995 publication "Dating Violence and Acquaintance Assault" by the Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, up to one-third of young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 have reported being involved in at least one abusive dating situation and more than 80 percent of all sexual assaults occur between people who know each other, including sexual assaults on dates. Many of these victims of violence are unable to obtain a protective order from family violence because their attackers are not family or household members. Senate Bill 68 clearly defines dating violence and enables a person in a dating relationship to file an application for an order of protection against family violence from another person in that dating relationship. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS Senate Bill 68 amends the Family Code to provide that dating violence is an act by an individual in a dating relationship against the other person in the dating relationship that is intended to result in or is a threat that reasonably places the individual in fear of physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, but does not include defensive measures to protect oneself. The bill also provides that dating relationship is more than a casual acquaintance or an ordinary fraternization in a business or social context and that it is a relationship between individuals who have or have had a continuing relationship of a romantic or intimate nature. The bill requires the existence of a dating relationship to be determined based on consideration of the length of the relationship, the nature of the relationship, and the frequency and type of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship (Sec. 71.0021). The bill provides for the inclusion of dating violence in the definition of family violence and authorizes an adult member of a dating relationship to file an application for a protective order. The bill also adds and modifies language to incorporate dating violence as a type of family violence in provisions relating to the notification of a temporary ex parte order, a motion to vacate a temporary ex parte order, required findings, and orders in a hearing on an application for a protective order, confidentiality of certain information in a protective order, the requirements of an order applying to a person who committed family violence, and the delivery of a protective order to other persons (Secs. 71.004, 82.002, 83.001, 83.004, 85.001, 85.007, 85.022, and 85.042). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.