Bills › 91st General Assembly
Relating to testimony by certain witnesses by two-way closed-circuit equipment
Sponsored by Rep. Austin Baeth (D), Rep. Sean Bagniewski (D), Rep. Ken Croken (D), Rep. Daniel Gosa (D), Rep. Bob Kressig (D), Rep. Mary Lee Madison (D), Rep. Rick L. Olson (D), Rep. Aime Wichtendahl (D)
Topics:Courts & civil law
Same legislation: SF 66
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 16, 2025
- Stopped: SubcommitteeDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: House committeeFunnel: by February 20, 2026
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: Senate committeeFunnel: by March 20, 2026
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2026 session adjourned on May 3, 2026, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary Courts can now allow children or people with certain disabilities to testify using two-way video equipment instead of being in the same room as the defendant. This change helps protect witnesses from trauma if being near the person they are testifying against makes it hard for them to speak. A judge can make this decision on their own or if a lawyer asks for it.1
Read the official explanation
This bill relates to testimony by certain witnesses by two-way closed-circuit equipment. The bill provides that upon its own motion or upon motion of any party, a court may protect a minor up to 18 years of age from trauma caused by testifying in the physical presence of the defendant where it would impair the minor’s ability to communicate, by ordering that the testimony of the minor be taken in a room other than the courtroom and be televised by two-way closed-circuit equipment for viewing in the courtroom. Current law does not specify that the closed-circuit equipment be two-way. Upon a finding of necessity, the court may also allow the testimony of a victim or witness with a mental illness, an intellectual disability, or other developmental disability to be taken by two-way closed-circuit equipment regardless of the age of the victim or witness.
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91st General Assembly