ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 73

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MAY 20, 1996

      The Assembly Judiciary Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 73.

      The bill would establish a series of specific statutory civil remedies for judges who hear violation of visitation order matters. A judge who sanctions a party for failure to comply with an order of visitation shall have the following remedies available:

      The awarding of counsel fees of the aggrieved party against the party who violated the terms of the order;

      Community service;

      The awarding of compensatory time for the time with the child for which the party was deprived; and

      Other economic sanctions which may be decided on a case-by-case basis.

      The committee amendments added a new subsection d. in section 2 of the bill providing that monetary compensation may be awarded for costs incurred when a parent fails to appear for scheduled visitation. This relief is especially important when the non-custodial parent repeatedly fails to come or fails to come on time causing the child emotional injury and disrupting plans for the custodial parent. The change in new subsection e. is to clarify that the court may award compensatory and punitive damages when a party interferes with visitation by removing the reference to "compensate."

      This bill embodies recommendation 8 of the report of the Commission to Study the Law of Divorce, issued April 18, 1995.

      This bill was prefiled for introduction in the 1996 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review which has been performed.