Last month, I appealed to the community to contact our State Senators and State Representatives in order to gain support for House Bills 1586 and 1588 and Senate Bills 919 and 920. This legislation will increase the existing marriage license fee for domestic violence services from the current $10 to $35, and will dedicate a $25 fee on divorce filings. It will also raise additional revenue for the Children's Trust Fund via a $25 increase to the marriage license fee and a $15 increase to the divorce filing fee. These increases will generate more than $3 million more each year for life-saving services to victims.
 
I am pleased to say that both the house bills and the senate bills have passed through their respective Judiciary Committees this week! This is a great victory, and could not have been accomplished without the help of everyone who contacted their local senators and state representatives to lobby for support.
 
These bills must still pass through their respective Appropriations Committees before they will be presented to the Senate and the House floors. We still need your help to ensure that we have continued support from our legislators throughout this process. It is important at this stage to both thank all those who voted yes and contributed to the successful vote as well as continue the efforts to get more legislators to support these bills.

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