REP. KINZER CARRIES BILL DESIGNED TO ASSIST DEPLOYED SERVICE MEMBERS
On Wednesday, February 13th Rep. Kinzer carried HB 2621 on the House Floor. HB 2621addresses the child custody issues faced by service members who are deployed overseas. Frequently, service members who have made the sacrifices associated with deployment return to find that their service has resulted in the loss of custody or visitation rights. Seeking restoration of those rights can be time consuming and expensive, as well as emotionally difficult for both the parents and children involved. HB 2621 provides that a service member’s deployment may not be used against him or her in a change of custody hearing. The bill further provides that custody orders issued during a deployment must end within ten days of the service member’s return.
Commenting on the bill Rep. Kinzer said, “We need to make sure that we are doing everything possible to assist our service members serving overseas. Unfortunately, current laws relating to child custody and visitation have been applied unfairly to disadvantage the very people we should be doing the most to thank. While HB 2621 will not solve every problem it is a huge step forward in making sure that our law is fair to those who sacrifice so much for all of us.”
