House OKs bill to help battered women

ANNAPOLIS The House of Delegates approved a Schaefer administration bill yesterday that would give battered women more remedies against their abusers in court. The vote was 113-7.

The bill, which was weakened by a House committee earlier this week, now goes back to the Senate, which earlier passed a stronger version.

The House limited the number of unmarried women who could seek relief under the bill by requiring that applicants have lived with an abuser for 90 days during the previous year. The House version also prevents women from renewing a judicial protection order beyond six months.