OLYMPIA – When a marriage ends, the process often can be nasty and the results, especially if children are involved, can have long-term consequences.
So Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, is sponsoring a bill aimed at taking some of the conflict and stress out of the divorce process.
Senate Bill 5470 would establish 20 statewide courthouse facilitators and a computer system to more closely track divorce information.
It also would provide legal aid for domestic violence and family law matters and set up supervised visitation and safe children exchange centers.
SB 5470 received a first reading in the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee last Friday and is scheduled for a public hearing this Friday.
“The bill does a lot of things,” Hargrove said.
“Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup, has worked on the issue of non-custodial parents but he became frustrated.
“So I made a commitment to work on things that would address his issues,” he said.
