Last Wednesday the Senate Judiciary heard bipartisan legislation authored by Senator Andrew Lang (R-Olivia) that requires the custodian of a petitioner’s minor children be notified of any order of protection lifted or placed upon the family. In emotional testimony, Sandy Hoff discussed the story of her grandson, Isaac Hoff, who was only 13 years old when he was killed in 2022.

On March 24, 2022 Isaac Hoff was tragically killed by a man who was involved with Hoff’s mother. Sandy Hoff, who was his guardian at the time, allowed Isaac to visit his mother because she had been made aware of a protection order placed upon Isaac’s mother, his mother’s home, and Sandy’s home. That protection order was lifted two weeks prior to Isaac’s murder, yet his grandmother was not made aware of this change.

This bill states that anytime an order of protection is placed on a home or individual, the members of the family must be told when the protection is lifted.

“This is a commonsense approach to an issue that will keep families and their loved ones safe,” said Lang. “Families should be made aware of the possibility of a protection order being lifted. There is no reason this should happen without notifying all family members covered under the order – it can lead to incredibly unsafe and tragic circumstances that no one should find themselves in. The bottom line is that if this law would have been in place two and a half years ago, it could have saved a life. We need to pass this law and honor Isaac’s memory to ensure this tragedy never occurs in the state of Minnesota again.”

The bill passed through Judiciary and its next stop is the Senate Floor.