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A Utah lawmaker who wanted to eliminate most no-fault divorces has dropped her legislation.
Instead, West Jordan Republican Rep. Peggy Wallace plans to send the contentious issue to a state task force for further study.
"Sometimes, when you get into a bill, you realize there are other issues that need to be looked at," Wallace said Tuesday.
As originally written, her House Bill 56 would have blocked couples who had been married for more than 10 years or who had minor children from divorcing for "irreconcilable differences" - the most common grounds for dissolving a union. They still could have divorced, but only for explicit reasons, such as spousal abuse or adultery.
Since the legislation was unveiled at an open house of the conservative think tank Sutherland Institute in December, Wallace has fielded dozens of calls and e-mails from Utahns. Some were outraged about her idea, while others suggested their own changes to state divorce statutes. A hefty fiscal note of nearly $1 million in estimated additional court costs also weighed the bill down.
Tuesday, the lawmaker, who never has been married, introduced a substitute bill establishing a "Divorce Task Force." The group would consider expanding grounds for divorce, including "pornography in the home with minors."
Task force members also would review divorce waiting periods and the fees charged for filing divorce papers. Wallace says state courts may be "subsidizing" the cost of divorce: Utah spends $2.7 million handling divorce cases, but collects just $690,000 in fees. Divorcing couples pay about $90 in court filing fees.
Wallace said the group would report back to the Legislature before Nov. 30 and she intends to bring her divorce amendment bill back to the Capitol next year.
Family law attorney Louise Knauer said Wallace's initiative is worthy, but she is not sure a task force made up of legislators will get to the bottom of the causes of divorce and suggest a solution in just eight months. As for fees, she notes that the state subsidizes everything from roads to personal injury lawsuits.
"I don't think there are easy answers to those questions," Knauer said.
Sutherland legislative director Jill Burton said the organization supports the task force. "The purpose of this bill is to try to keep families together. Our original goal hasn't changed," Burton said. "But maybe it is an issue that needs to be studied a little bit more."