domestic relations; domestic violence

The definition of domestic violence was expanded to explicitly include 'coercive control,' stalking, harassment, and the use of surveillance technology, moving beyond just physical assault.

The definition of domestic violence was clarified to exclude acts of self-defense or defense of others if the defensive acts were proportionate and the defender did not provoke the altercation.

Courts are now required to make specific written findings on the record regarding domestic violence allegations before entering any custody or parenting time orders.

A mandatory rebuttable presumption was added stating that awarding legal decision-making or parenting time to a parent who committed domestic violence is contrary to the child's best interests.

The rules for rebutting the presumption were tightened; courts can no longer consider a child's absence from the scene of violence or the child's preference for the abusive parent as relevant factors.

Courts must now disregard the child's unawareness of the abuse and the child's preference for the abusive parent when making custody decisions involving domestic violence.

A parent who failed to rebut the domestic violence presumption in a prior case remains subject to that presumption in any future modification proceedings.

Treatment programs used as evidence of rehabilitation must now demonstrate that the parent understands how their violence harmed the child and must address the tendency to minimize or rationalize the abuse.

New safety precautions were added for parents who cannot overcome the presumption, including random drug testing, requiring a bond for the child's safe return, and prohibiting the victim from supervising the abuser.

The law now explicitly states that the passage of time or remoteness of an earlier act of domestic violence is an aggravating, not a mitigating, factor.

Added the official short title 'Alec and Lydia Act' to the legislation.

Updated document headers to reflect the House Engrossed Version and corrected the bill title format.

Removed the original sponsor information and introductory formatting lines.