Violence Against Women Policy Trends Report 13

April 10, 2001

David M. Heger
National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center
University of Missouri - St. Louis
Political Analyst

Federal

On April 6, the Senate approved a seven-percent increase in new federal spending and a 10-year, $1.18 trillion tax cut, handing President Bush his first political setback as chief executive. The President was easily able to push his plan for a four-percent spending hike and a $1.62 trillion tax reduction through the Republican-controlled House. With the Senate split 50-50 between the parties, Mr. Bush's "budget blueprint" was met in the chamber with some resistance, leaving open a window of opportunity for a moderate coalition of senators, led by Senator John Breaux (D-Louisiana), to introduce and eventually pass its own budget resolution. The resolutions passed by the House and Senate do not have the force of law, but simply set the parameters for the appropriations debate that will take place throughout the rest of the year.

Yesterday, President Bush released his federal spending recommendations for fiscal year 2002, which begins October 1, 2001. These budget documents add detail to his previously released blueprint, but maintain the same general spending guidelines. Lobbyists, interest groups, and advocates are currently scrambling to decipher the five-inch stack of documents to see which programs have received increased funding and which have been scaled-back or dropped altogether. Analysts report that Attorney General John Ashcroft has indicated that violence against women programs will be fully funded in the Department of Justice budget.

Representative Rob Simmons (R-Connecticut) recently introduced legislation to remove the cap from Victims of Crime Fund payments to the states (H.R. 1092). The proposal ensures that "all sums in the Fund in a fiscal year are in fact obligated in the subsequent fiscal year." H.R. 1092 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on March 19. Analysts expect the measure to be incorporated into an omnibus appropriations bill and receive consideration sometime in June. H.R. 1092 currently has 23 co-sponsors in the House. Senators Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) and Robert Torricelli (D-New Jersey) have reportedly expressed interest in sponsoring a Senate version of the bill.

For much of the past two weeks, the media focused its attention on Senator John McCain's (R-Arizona) proposal to change the role of money in federal elections. Some believe the current system, which thrives on unregulated donations to political parties known as "soft money," allows wealthy individuals and well-funded groups to buy political influence. Mr. McCain's campaign finance reform measure passed the Senate (59-41), but faces stiff opposition from various members of both parties in the lower chamber. Members of the House leadership have indicated they will address pieces of the President's budget before turning their attention to campaign finance legislation.

State

Although budgetary issues and political redistricting continue to dominate deliberations across the legislative landscape, state lawmakers are still finding time to address violence against women policy issues. Several states are scheduled to adjourn over the next few weeks. Only a handful of state legislatures are slated to continue regular session activity into the summer. Look for several adjourned states to convene interim sessions or introduce interim or "study" committees. Interim activity often foreshadows the legislative priorities in subsequent sessions.

Lawmakers across the states are beginning to identify a connection between animal abuse and domestic violence. A bill recently approved by a panel in the Minnesota House of Representatives creates penalties of up to four years in prison and a $10,000 fine for those who harm house pets in an attempt to terrorize a person. The bill's supporters claim the new law would give police more tools to identify domestic violence. A similar measure is currently under consideration in Maine.

Maine lawmakers are giving substantial attention this year to partner abuse and other forms of violence against women. One of the fiercest debates in Augusta these days revolves around a $9.6 million proposal "to fund sexual assault and domestic violence intervention and prevention." Maine lawmakers across the board have voiced concern about the number of female victims of violence and Governor Angus King (I) has called the problem Maine's "public enemy number one." However, the state faces dwindling revenues, leaving many sympathetic lawmakers to struggle to find funding for violence prevention programs. Senate Republican Leader Mary Small has raised the possibility of increasing taxes to pay for the initiative.

Last year, the United States Supreme Court found in U.S. v. Morrison that gender-based violence was a matter for the state courts and not the federal courts. (http://www.violenceagainstwomen.org/policy/usvmorrison.shtml) In response to this decision, the Illinois General Assembly is considering the Gender Violence Act, which enables victims of gender-motivated violence to sue their attackers in state court for financial damages. The measure recently passed the House and now goes before the Senate. Analysts indicate that if approved, the act would be the first of its kind in the nation. The legislation has a long list of supporters, including Illinois Governor George Ryan (R) and the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

Several years after Congress enacted Megan's Law, states continue to wrestle with its implementation. Legislation under consideration in Oregon requires the state to notify police chiefs when a sex offender is released from prison (SB 661) and removes expiration dates for the registration of sex offenders (SB 370). Oregon lawmakers are also currently hearing testimony on the state's law requiring juvenile sex offenders to register with police for the rest of their lives. Several witnesses, including state officials, defense attorneys and psychologists, have called for a scaling back of this policy. Delaware lawmakers are currently working to strengthen penalties against teen offenders. SB 83 removes Tier II and Tier III sex offenders from public schools for at least six months and places them in alternative school settings. Another measure requires schools to post information about the enrollment of sex offenders.

A federal judge recently declared Connecticut's sex offender registry to be unconstitutional, sending lawmakers in the state scrambling to enact changes necessary to keep the registry on the Internet for public view. U.S. District Judge Robert Chatigny ruled that Connecticut's version of Megan's Law violates due process law because it fails to provide offenders the opportunity to demonstrate that they are not dangerous. Connecticut is one of 19 states that lists sex offenders without classifying them according to risk. After a ruling similar to the one handed down by Judge Chatigny, the Massachusetts Legislature created a three-tier classification system and established a hearing process in which offenders can present evidence that they no longer pose a threat to society.

The use of DNA evidence to solve crimes of sexual assault continues to be a hot-button policy topic. Lawmakers in Wisconsin are expected to introduce a bill to allow prosecutors to use DNA to charge suspected rapists caught after the six-year statute of limitations has expired. Prosecutors in the state were the first in the country to issue "John Doe warrants," charges based solely on a DNA profile, for unsolved rape cases. Meanwhile, a California state appeals court is considering the constitutionality of such warrants.