Senate Bills Against Domestic Violence Dedicated To Parze Family

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ - A new bill package introduced in the New Jersey Senate on Thursday aims to help prevent domestic violence by increasing access to domestic violence screenings and expanding the definition of domestic violence. The package is dedicated to Freehold Township's Parze family, who lost daughter Stephanie, 25, to a domestic violence incident one year ago.

Parze's body was found in a wooded area along Route 9 in January 2020 87 days after she was last seen by her family. Monmouth County authorities say John Ozbilgen, Parze's ex-boyfriend, killed her sometime after 10 p.m. on Oct. 30, 2019.

The package was put together to help protect those who suffer from domestic abuse, according to a news release. The bills also aim to seize ammunition in response to domestic violence restraining orders, give survivors access to the income tax credit program, notify family members when firearms are returned to the person charged with domestic violence and give those who suffered through domestic violence full benefit coverage for necessary mental health treatment and therapy.

"Domestic violence is one of the most underreported crimes in this country, it does not discriminate, anyone can fall victim to it,” said Edward Parze, Stephanie Parze's father and founder of the Stephanie Nicole Parze Foundation. “Domestic Violence is not just physical abuse, it is all about power, control and manipulation of the victim and it can take a turn for the worse and become fatal at any moment."

Below is the full list of bills in the package introduced in the Senate and Assembly:

• S-3147/A-4919: Expands definition of domestic violence to include psychological abuse and economic abuse.

• S-3103/A-4923: Requires seizure of ammunition and certain firearm components in response to domestic violence restraining order or conviction.

• S-3112/A-4920: Requires obstetrical providers to perform domestic violence screenings and all healthcare professionals to take certain actions to prevent perpetrator of domestic violence from obtaining copies of a victim’s medical record.

• S-3113/A-4922: Expands eligibility under New Jersey earned income tax credit program to allow taxpayers who are victims of domestic abuse to claim credit with filing status of married filing separately.

• S-3015/A-3687: Requires certain family or household members and victims be notified when firearms are returned to persons charged with domestic violence or subject to extreme risk protection order.

• S-3111/A-4645: Requires health insurance carriers to categorize mental health treatment and therapy received by victim of Domestic Violence as medically necessary treatment and provide full benefits coverage therefore.

• S-3120/A-4921: Requires public entities that operate websites or web pages pertaining to domestic violence to utilize certain electronic tools and security measures to protect online visitors who may be victims of domestic violence.

“Survivors of domestic assault deserve to be heard, believed, and protected. This bill package is a positive action toward shining light on an issue that is too often ignored and not talked about because it may be uncomfortable to discuss,” said Sen. Vin Gopal, who introduced the package on Thursday. “We all know that things that are the most uncomfortable to talk about, are the things we have to talk about, and the protection of these survivors is of the top most importance.”

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