AN ACT RELATIVE TO ABUSE PREVENTION ORDERS.

      Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Chapter 209A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 4 and inserting in place thereof the following section:—
Section 4. Upon the filing of a complaint under this chapter, the court may enter such temporary order it deems necessary to protect a plaintiff from abuse; provided, however:
(1) the court shall determine if any previous police reports have ever been filed by the plaintiff against the defendant or does the defendant have a criminal record, which would suggest a violent history.
(2) The court shall determine if there are any previous medical reports where the plaintiff has been abused by the defendant and sought medical treatment.
(3) The court shall determine if the plaintiff has any fresh cuts, bruises, abrasions, breaks or other physical ailment that would suggest recent violence by the defendant and cause concern of possible imminent harm to the plaintiff.
(4) The court shall ask the plaintiff if he has any witnesses that would testify for the plaintiff against the defendant, stating that the defendant has displayed a violent pattern against the plaintiff or others.
If none of the above 4 guidelines are found, the court shall not issue a temporary order and the defendant shall be subpoenaed to court and allowed to present his case to the court, affording equal representation and allowing the court to make a fair and educated decision as to whether the order is warranted.

AN ACT FURTHER REGULATING PROTECTIVE ORDERS IN CERTAIN COURT PROCEEDINGS.

      Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Chapter 209A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following section:—
Section 11. It shall be a defense in the prosecution of any complaint alleging a violation of the no restraint or no contact provisions of any order issued pursuant to section three, four or five of this chapter or section eighteen or twenty-four B of chapter 208, section thirty-two of chapter 209 or section fifteen of chapter 209C that the protected party either initiated contact with the defendant or invited, enticed, encouraged, consented to or otherwise condoned the defendant’s actions which gave use to said violation.
If the court finds the protected party either initiated contact with the defendant or invited, encouraged, consented to or otherwise encouraged the defendant’s actions which gave rise to the alleged violation, said contact or conduct shall be a violation of the order and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years or both and the court may in its discretion vacate the order.
The criminal remedies provided herein are not exclusive and shall not preclude any other available civil or criminal remedies.

AN ACT RELATIVE TO CHILD SUPPORT.

      Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, an obligor who is not allowed visitation rights shall not be required to pay child support.

visitation

AN ACT CLARIFYING THE REMOVAL STATUTE.

      Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Section 30 of chapter 208 of the General Laws, as appearing in the most recent edition, is hereby further amended by inserting at the end thereof the following new paragraph:—
The removal shall be ordered only if the Court finds that the removal results in a direct benefit to the child which outweighs any detriment to the child, including but not limited to, that resulting from the loss of frequent and regular visitation with the non-custodial paren