Law named for Clark County mother offers high-tech help to domestic-violence victims
OLYMPIA — The Tiffany Hill Act was signed this afternoon in a ceremony at the Capitol, capping a three-year effort by Sen. Lynda Wilson to give domestic-violence victims access to technology that can help protect them from further abuse.
The new law is named for the 35-year-old mother of three who was murdered by her estranged husband Nov. 26 in the parking lot of their children’s school in Hazel Dell. It will take effect June 11.
“When a judge places an accused abuser on electronic monitoring, the technology allowed by this law can be combined with the monitoring to create a perpetual “geo-protection” zone around the victim. The zone moves with the victim, and if the accused abuser comes too close, the victim gets an alert in real time, through an app on a mobile phone,” explained Wilson, (R-Vancouver).
“Tiffany Hill did everything she could to avoid contact with the person who would ultimately take her life. She was a former Marine, and I have no doubt that if she’d had access to this technology, she would have taken steps to protect herself.”
Wilson credits Senate Bill 5149’s unanimous passage this year to the relentless efforts of Tiffany Hill’s friends and loved ones from Sarah J. Anderson Elementary School, where her three children were students and she was an involved parent, and members of the Clark County criminal-justice community who were involved in the domestic-violence case. She hoped they could attend the bill-signing, but such ceremonies are closed to the public due to the COVID-19 emergency. Wilson plans to request a ceremony when the governor’s office allows them again.
“The people who knew Tiffany best were determined to help others avoid what she had to go through. I intend for them to receive the recognition they deserve.”
