Violence Against Women Policy Trends Report 14

April 24, 2001

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

Federal

With Congress on a two-week Easter recess, federal legislative activity slowed considerably in mid-April. The nation's lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill yesterday with an eye toward making progress on the President's priorities — particularly tax cuts and education reform — in the five weeks of work leading up to their Memorial Day break.

President Bush has given victims' advocates reason to cheer recently. Mr. Bush decided to allow new medical privacy rules issued during the Clinton Administration to take effect with only a few changes. The regulations require patient authorization for the use or disclosure of medical information and create penalties for the improper use of health records. Advocates hope the new law, which will take effect in two years, will allow full medical documentation of domestic violence without placing women in fear of discrimination from employers or retaliation from their abusers.

In another move favorable to the violence prevention community, President Bush recommended full funding for domestic violence and sexual assault programs administered by the Department of Justice. However, analysts report that the President's fiscal year 2002 budget proposal for similar programs run by the Department of Health and Human Services falls short of what was authorized by the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 (VAWA 2000). The budget approved last year by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton provided only $468 million of the $677 million authorized in the VAWA 2000.

State

As the United States economy has cooled over the past year, revenues have dropped below annual expenditures in many states, making budget deliberations even more arduous this year. A handful of legislatures may have to extend their sessions to allow more time for negotiators to hammer out the details. When appropriators are looking for spending measures to cut, violence against women programs are not always immune to the legislative axe. Analysts believe that a Tennessee bill imposing tougher penalties on men who rape their wives will likely fall victim to fiscal concerns in the cash-strapped state. An Iowa legislator recently made waves when he questioned the cost of the state's program to treat sexually violent predators after they serve their prison term.

Iowa is not the only state examining its policy of civil confinement for high-risk sex offenders. The Washington Senate recently approved a plan to substitute tougher prison sentences for forced psychological treatment of rapists and molesters. The state's program has passed constitutional muster in the United States Supreme Court (see Trends Report 10), but lawsuits challenging the practice have exposed shortcomings, causing state lawmakers to question its efficacy. Despite some legislative setbacks, state civil confinement schemes continue to receive judicial approval. A New Jersey appeals court recently ruled in favor of keeping dangerous sexual predators locked up after they serve their prison terms.

Sex offender registrations based on New Jersey's Megan's Law have not fared well lately in the courts. U.S. District Judge Robert Chatigny ruled that Connecticut's registry violates due process law because it fails to provide offenders the opportunity to demonstrate that they are not dangerous. (See Trends Report 13.) A week later, the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals made a similar ruling on Alaska's policy requiring sex offenders to register even if convicted before the registry law was passed by the legislature.

In recent days, the Oklahoma Legislature approved a bill requiring convicted sex offenders to notify state and local law enforcement at least three days prior to changing their residence. The Washington House passed a measure to fix a loophole in the state's "Two Strikes" law that puts two-time sex offenders in prison for life. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has asked the Legislature to add more types of sexual offenders to the state's registry, including those who utilize "date-rape" drugs in sexually assaulting their victim.

Domestic violence issues continue to garner consideration from state lawmakers. Michigan Lieutenant Governor Dick Posthumus recently released a report by the 13-member Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Task Force. The report, which resulted from six months of study and several public hearings, includes recommendations to change the legal system to help victims, give victims of dating violence protections under domestic violence law, and create a Web site and school curricula to educate the public about domestic violence. To enhance protections for battered women, the report calls for the sealing of court records that provide information about victims. A similar measure has been introduced in Texas (HB 2964) and has come under scrutiny for proposing to block access to public documents.