House Judiciary Committee advances restorative-justice pretrial diversion bill after heated debate

House Bill 1671, a measure to authorize restorative justice as a pretrial diversion option, was reported out of the House Judiciary Committee on a 14–12 vote Wednesday after extended debate over victim protections and the scope of the program.

Representative Rabe, the sponsor (joining the committee by video), said the bill would place restorative justice where it “works best — before conviction” and create a uniform, voluntary process under Title 42 that allows district attorneys to divert eligible cases into structured restorative practices, except for homicide. Rabe said participation would require the consent of prosecutors, victims, the accused and a trained facilitator and that confidentiality protections would apply with limited exceptions, including new crimes and mandatory child-abuse reporting.

Opponents led by Chairman Kauffman argued the amendment under consideration (Amendment 2359) risked applying restorative practices inappropriately in serious cases, raised the prospect of coercive consent in domestic-violence situations and could, in his words, “strip away the very protections our criminal justice system exists to provide.” Kauffman said the language, as he read it, might allow courts to impose restorative processes in cases involving sexual offenses and other violent crimes and therefore opposed the amendment.

Supporters, including Representative Rapp and others, countered that the proposal is a voluntary pretrial diversion — not a sentencing alternative — and that all stakeholders, including prosecutors and judges, must agree for a case to enter the restorative process. They emphasized that victims often report better outcomes from structured restorative practices than from plea-driven case resolution and argued the bill would reduce caseload pressure and recidivism while preserving prosecutorial discretion.

The committee adopted Amendment 2359 and then voted to report House Bill 1671 as amended, both by 14 votes in favor and 12 opposed. The votes were recorded by roll call. The bill will be reported to the full House as amended.

Provenance: The bill and amendment were introduced and described in committee (counsel), followed by extended debate from members for and against; the amendment and final action were recorded by roll call.