Bills › 91st General Assembly
Relating to testimony by a minor witness using two-way, closed-circuit equipment
Sponsored by the House Judiciary Committee
Topics:Courts & civil law
Same legislation: HSB 38
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 17, 2025
- Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 17, 2025
- Done: House committeeFebruary 24, 2025
- Done: Passes the HouseMarch 12, 202595–1
- Stopped: Senate committeeDied when the General Assembly ended
- 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 could allow children to testify from a different room instead of being in the same room as the person they are accusing. This change uses video and audio equipment that allows the child and the court to talk back and forth. It aims to help young witnesses communicate better if being near the defendant causes them too much stress.1
Read the official explanation
This bill relates to testimony by a minor witness using two-way, closed-circuit equipment. The bill provides that a court may protect a minor from trauma caused by testifying in the physical presence of a 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. The testimony will be televised by two-way, closed-circuit equipment with both audio and video feeds for listening and viewing in the courtroom. Current law does not specify that the closed-circuit equipment have two-way capabilities.
Why it matters. Courts may allow minor witnesses to testify from a separate room using two-way, closed-circuit video and audio equipment if testifying in person would impair their ability to communicate. This change would allow the defendant and others in the courtroom to both see and hear the minor's testimony remotely.2
Senate subcommittee
Named March 18, 2025. It hasn’t reported yet.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part
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91st General Assembly