Violence
Against Women Policy Trends Report 4
November 17, 2000
David M. Heger
National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center
University of Missouri - St. Louis
Political Analyst
Federal
Ten days after the 2000 election
for president, no clear winner has emerged. The race between Vice President
Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush remains "too close to call"
and apparently hinges on the outcome of Florida's 25 electoral votes.
As a result of the November 7 elections, Republicans will continue to
outnumber Democrats in the House of Representatives during the 107th
session of Congress, but the verdict is still out on control of the
Senate. To date, Democrats have picked up three seats in the Senate,
bringing them within one seat of parity in the chamber. Votes are still
being tabulated in Washington State's Senate race between incumbent
Senator Slade Gorton (R) and challenger Maria Cantwell (D). Also in
play is the Senate seat won last week by Connecticut Senator Joseph
Lieberman (D), who is also Mr. Gore's running mate and the Democrat
candidate for vice president. If Mr. Gore and Mr. Lieberman win the
presidential election, Connecticut's Republican governor will appoint
a new senator, likely to be a fellow Republican. Given these circumstances,
the Senate will be split evenly among the two major parties only if
Ms. Cantwell wins the Senate seat in Washington and Mr. Bush is elected
president; otherwise, Republicans will maintain control of the upper
chamber.
Women faired well, overall, in the
2000 elections, winning additional seats in the Senate and increasing
their presence at the top of state governments. Next year, five of the
50 state governors will be women, an increase from the previous number
of three. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York), Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan),
and Jean Carnahan (D-Missouri) became the first women elected to the
U.S. Senate from their respective states. The National Organization
for Women Political Action Committee (NOW/PAC) has published an on-line
report indicating how NOW/PAC-endorsed candidates fared in the November
7 elections (http://www.nowpacs.org/2000).
Members of Congress were scheduled
to return for a "lame-duck" session after the elections, but in lieu
of the unresolved presidential contest, decided to postpone the session
until December. Meanwhile, the fiscal year 2001 budget remains unfinished
and the federal government continues to run on temporary spending measures.
Only eight of the annual 13 spending bills have been signed into public
law by President Clinton. A bill funding the Department of Health and
Human Services, responsible for overseeing much of the federal action
taken to prevent violence against women, is among those still awaiting
congressional approval.
Judicial
An important case revolving around
the reach of state laws to hold convicted sex offenders in the corrections
system was heard recently in the U.S. Supreme Court. In Seling v.
Young, Andre Brigham Young, a six-time convicted rapist, argued
that his constitutional rights have been violated by a Washington State
civil law that empowers the state to hold "violent sexual predators"
indefinitely. The Christian Science Monitor reports that "(t)hree
years ago, the Supreme Court upheld a sexual predator law in Kansas
that was nearly identical to Washington's." However, attorneys representing
Mr. Young contend that the law is designed to hold sex offenders, under
the guise of treatment, long after they have served their criminal sentences.
State
Most states have adjourned for the
year, though a handful of state lawmaking bodies may meet in post-election
special sessions. Special sessions serve a variety of purposes; legislators
often use them to address legislation vetoed by the governor, to elect
leadership positions for the 2001 session, or to take up issues that
need to be considered before the next legislative session. Most interim
committee work was completed several weeks before the elections. In
December, many states will allow lawmakers to "prefile" legislation
for the upcoming session, and such measures are often published before
the commencement of the session. This gives the public an early look
into what might be addressed during 2001 legislative business. Analysts
predict that state policy activity will begin to pick up again in late
December or early January.