Legislative briefs

Child safety

The state Senate voted unanimously Thursday to require hiring outside experts to help it get rid of the backlog of inactive cases of child abuse and neglect

“I think all of us were very dismayed that even though we appropriated millions of dollars to the Department of Child Safety, it seemed like the backlogged cases keep rising,” said Sen. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria.

“It’s not to cast blame,” Lesko said of SB 1142.

She said at the end of December there were more than 13,000 such cases where no social worker or staffer has looked at the file — or looked in on the child — in at least 60 days.

The vote sends the measure to the House.

Abortion restrictions

For the second time in four years, the state Senate voted to restrict medication abortions.

SB 1324 restricts the use of RU-486 to the first seven weeks of pregnancy in accordance with current labeling approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The vote came despite an obstetrician telling lawmakers the drug is safe through nine weeks — and at a lower dosage than the FDA protocol — and that the federal agency does not preclude “off-label” use.

A nearly identical 2012 law was declared illegal by a state judge. This change is designed to get around that ruling.

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“Arizona cannot have the abortion industry putting profits above the health and safety of women,” said Sen. Kimberly Yee, R-Phoenix.

“To say that this bill is about women’s safety and is needed for women’s safety is just wrong because we had medical experts testify to the contrary,” said Senate Minority Leader Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix.

The measure would mean only surgical abortions after seven weeks, a procedure that is more intrusive and expensive.

The 18-12 vote sends the bill to the House.

Revenge porn

Without dissent the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved legislation designed to protect victims of “revenge porn.”

HB 2001 is aimed at situations where people have taken naked pictures of themselves and sent them to another person with whom they are in a relationship.

The problem develops after the relationship ends, perhaps badly, and the other party decides to post that photo online without permission.

The measure would make such disclosure a felony.

A similar measure was approved two years ago, only to be challenged in federal court as overly broad by book publishers and the American Civil Liberties Union. This new version contains limits designed to overcome the constitutional objections.

HB 2001, which already has been approved by the House, now needs a vote of the full Senate.