Violence Against
Women Policy Trends Report 6
December 15, 2000
David M. Heger
National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center
University of Missouri - St. Louis
Political Analyst
Federal
It's finally over: 36 days after voters cast their
ballots for president, Vice President Al Gore (D) conceded the 2000
election to Governor George W. Bush (R) of Texas. Mr. Gore stayed true
to his word that he would end all legal challenges to Florida's pivotal
25 electoral votes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Florida
Supreme Court's previous order to hand recount several thousand ballots
in the state. This year's presidential race turned out to be one of
the closest in our nation's history. Although Mr. Gore edged out Mr.
Bush in the national popular vote by more than 300,000 ballots, the
Texas Governor won the contest that matters by gaining four more electoral
votes than his opponent (271-267).
With only a few short weeks until inauguration, President-elect
Bush must work quickly now to appoint cabinet members and staff. At
least one woman, Condoleezza Rice, is assured a high-level appointment
in the new Bush administration. A former top foreign policy adviser
to the President-elect's father, former President George Bush, Ms. Rice
will now serve in an even more esteemed role as national security adviser.
After months of infighting and partisan wrangling,
the end may be in sight for a final budget package that Congress was
supposed to have completed back in October. Congressional budget negotiators
worked with the White House over the past several days to reach a deal
on a $1.8 trillion federal budget that includes increased spending for
hospitals, schools, and medical research centers. The biggest obstacle
to resolving the long-standing impasse was negotiations over the $108.9
billion bill that funds the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health
and Human Services (HHS). Today, lawmakers will vote to give final approval
to the remaining fiscal bills and deliver them to President Clinton,
who is expected to sign the legislation into law.
State
State lawmakers continue to gear up for upcoming 2001
legislative sessions, with almost all states scheduled to convene in
January or February. A number of states will begin 2001 regular session
work during the first week of January: California, Connecticut, Kentucky,
Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont,
and Wisconsin. A handful of state legislatures have engaged in session
activity during December. At the behest of Governor Mike Huckabee (R),
Arkansas policymakers met recently in a special session to address education
and taxation issues. Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio lawmakers have spent
much of the month working to wrap up last-minute business for the waning
2000 regular session.
During eleventh-hour session activity, the New Jersey
Assembly voted unanimously (68-0) to join a growing number of states
that post information pertaining to released sex offenders on state
Web sites. This expansion of Megan's Law was part of a constitutional
amendment approved by New Jersey voters in November. The initiative
now goes before the state Senate, where its support is strong. However,
Senator Peter Inverso (R), who will draft his own version of the Internet
sex offender bill for consideration in the state's upper chamber, has
indicated that he wants to hold hearings before moving on the issue
to make sure the legislation is legally sound. One potential point of
contention revolves around whether certain lower-risk sex offenders
should be kept off the Internet list. The American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) opposes the legislation.
A recent article in Stateline.org profiles the
remarkable rise of Delaware Governor-elect Ruth Ann Minner (D). Minner
grew up a poor tenant farmer and at the age of 32 was a single mother
of three with no high school diploma. She worked two jobs while obtaining
her graduate equivalent degree (GED) and after serving in the Delaware
General Assembly finally made her way to the pinnacle of state government.
Minner is one of only a handful of women across the states that currently
serve as governor. To read more about her inspirational trek into the
political arena, visit
http://www.stateline.org/story.cfm?storyid=105325.