A bill that provides the consideration of joint custody of children after a divorce is making its way through the legislature. Senate Bill 74 passed through the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday.
Senate Bill 74 says that in any custody dispute, if requested by one of the parents, the court shall consider granting joint physical custody of the minor children. Members of the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from several proponents, including emotional personal experiences. Proponents say research shows joint custody is better for children. Tom Barnett is with the State Bar Association. He says the bill establishes 14 standards for judges to think about when considering joint custody.
“The judges can already order shared parenting under the existing law. The problem is that we haven’t established, this legislature hasn’t established any criteria,” Barnett says.
Barnett says the standards create consistency.
Opponents of the measure say it doesn’t do enough. They say shared parenting needs to be guaranteed. Representative Mike Stevens says he can’t support the bill because so much of the measure already exists in current law. The bill now moves to the House floor for further debate.