ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
domestic violence and
protection orders
Eliminates
filing and appeal fees associated with domestic violence orders of protection
and injunctions against harassment, and changes requirements for registering
these orders.
Several
thousand requests for orders of protection and injunctions against harassment
are filed in Arizona courts each year, and the number is increasing. Currently, Arizona courts charge a $5 filing
fee for these types of requests. In
addition, fees are assessed for appealing these orders and injunctions.
An estimated $190,000 in filing fees for orders of
protection and injunctions against harassment are collected each year. The bulk of these monies are deposited with
county general funds; however, small percentages are directed toward specific
programs such as the drug and gang enforcement account, alternative dispute
resolution and the domestic violence shelter fund. None of these monies are deposited in the state general fund.
To improve services to domestic violence victims, the
Committee on the Impact of Domestic Violence (CIDVC) indicates that these fees
should be eliminated. CIDVC also
indicates that some sheriff’s offices refuse to register orders of protection
or injunctions against harassment that they believe were improperly
served. S.B. 1084 addresses these
concerns by eliminating fees and requiring sheriff’s offices to register orders
and injunctions when they receive appropriate court documentation. S.B. 1084 also updates A.R.S. §13-2951,
which currently refers to using party line telephones to report emergencies.
1. Eliminates fees for requesting domestic violence orders of protection and injunctions against harassment and fees for appealing and cross-appealing these orders and injunctions.
2. Prohibits charging a defendant who is under an order of protection or an injunction against harassment a fee for requesting a hearing.
3. Updates language relating to emergency telephone use, and increases from a class 2 to a class 1 misdemeanor the penalty for failing to surrender a telephone to someone needing to report an emergency.
4. Makes technical and conforming changes.
5. Provides for a general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Staff
January 19, 2001