HB1108

The amendment significantly STRENGTHENS the bill by changing it from merely allowing courts to seal dismissed protection order files to REQUIRING immediate sealing of dismissed petitions and adding a new mandate to seal denied petitions when the court finds them frivolous or abusive, while also requiring law enforcement notification and making their records nonpublic. The bill was substantially rewritten (flagged as "hoghoused") to expand protections by covering both dismissals and denials across two separate protection order statutes (domestic abuse and stalking/harassment orders).

This change converted the bill from its engrossed (amended) form back to its enrolled (final passed) form, removing the warning that the bill had been "extensively amended (hoghoused)" and restoring the original legislative intent to require sealing of court files for dismissed or denied protection order petitions in both domestic abuse and harassment contexts. The substantive policy provisions remain unchanged; this is a procedural transition to finalize the bill for the Governor's signature.