BILL NUMBER: AJR 8 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 11, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members John A. Pérez and Lowenthal
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano,
Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford,
Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chávez,
Chesbro, Cooley, Dahle, Daly,
Dickinson, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto,
Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Holden, Hueso, Jones-Sawyer, Levine,
Linder, Logue, Maienschein,
Medina, Mitchell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea,
V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva,
Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Torres, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
and Yamada )
JANUARY 31, 2013
Relative to violence against women.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 8, as amended, John A. Pérez. Violence Against Women
Reauthorization Act.
This measure would urge the President to sign and Congress to pass
the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act and ensure the
sustainability of vital programs designed to keep women and families
safe from violence and abuse.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, The federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was
developed with the input of advocates from around the country with
diverse backgrounds and experiences, and addresses the real and most
important needs of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault,
dating violence, and stalking; and
WHEREAS, VAWA represents the voices of women and their families,
and the voices of victims, survivors, and advocates; and
WHEREAS, VAWA was first enacted in 1994, and has been the
centerpiece of the federal government's efforts to stamp out domestic
and sexual violence. VAWA provides millions of dollars to support
programs for victim services, transitional housing, and legal
assistance, as well as tools that law enforcement, prosecutors, and
judges need to hold offenders accountable and keep communities safe
while supporting victims; and
WHEREAS, Domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and
stalking, once considered private matters to be dealt with behind
closed doors, have been brought out of the darkness; and
WHEREAS, VAWA has been successful because it has had consistently
strong, bipartisan support for nearly two decades; and
WHEREAS, Senators Patrick Leahy and Mike Crapo and Representative
Gwen Moore have introduced identical legislation, the Violence
Against Women Reauthorization Act, in their respective houses with
language that includes several updates and improvements to the law,
including the following:
(a) An emphasis on the need to effectively respond to sexual
assault crime by adding new purpose areas and a 25-percent set-aside
in the STOP (Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors) Violence
Against Women Formula Grant Program (STOP Program) and the Grants to
Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders
Program.
(b) Improvements in tools to prevent domestic violence homicides
by training law enforcement, victim service providers, and court
personnel to identify and manage high-risk offenders and connecting
high-risk victims to crisis intervention services.
(c) Critical improvements that provide important protections for
students, immigrant women, as well as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender and Native American communities.
(d) Improvements in responses to the high rate of violence against
women in tribal communities by strengthening concurrent tribal
criminal jurisdiction over perpetrators who assault Indian spouses
and dating partners in Indian countries.
(e) Measures to strengthen housing protections for victims by
applying existing housing protections to nine additional federal
housing programs.
(f) Measures to promote accountability to ensure that federal
funds are used for their intended purposes.
(g) Consolidation of programs and reductions in authorization
levels to address fiscal concerns, and renewed focus on programs that
have been most successful.
(h) Technical corrections to update definitions throughout the law
to provide uniformity and continuity; and
WHEREAS, There is a need to maintain services for victims and
families at the local, state, and federal levels. VAWA
reauthorization would allow existing programs to continue
uninterrupted, and would provide for the development of new
initiatives to address key areas of concern. These initiatives
include the following:
(a) Addressing the high rates of domestic violence, dating
violence, and sexual assault among women 16 to 24 years of age,
inclusive.
(b) Improving the response to sexual assault with best practices,
training, and communication tools for law enforcement, as well as for
health care and legal professionals.
(c) Preventing domestic violence homicides through enhanced
training for law enforcement, advocates, and others who interact with
those at risk; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature requests the President to
sign and Congress to pass the Violence Against Women Reauthorization
Act and ensure the sustainability of vital programs designed to keep
women and families safe from violence and abuse; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the
author for appropriate distribution.