Domestic Violence Public Health Emergency Guidance Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1034 To require the Attorney General to issue guidance to law enforcement agencies as they respond to increased levels of domestic violence during the COVID–19 public health emergency, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 11, 2021 Ms. WEXTON (for herself, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. COOPER, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mrs. HINSON, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. SIRES, Ms. WILD, Mr. CARSON, and Mr. HASTINGS) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju- diciary A BILL To require the Attorney General to issue guidance to law enforcement agencies as they respond to increased levels of domestic violence during the COVID–19 public health emergency, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Domestic Violence 4 Public Health Emergency Guidance Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Mar 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1034.IH H1034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1034 IH SEC. 2. GUIDANCE ON ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 1 DURING THE COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH 2 EMERGENCY. 3 (a) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 30 days after the 4 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in 5 consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 6 Services, domestic violence stakeholders, and State, local, 7 and tribal law enforcement stakeholders, shall issue guid- 8 ance to Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement 9 agencies which contain promising and model practices for 10 addressing domestic violence and protecting the safety of 11 law enforcement officers and all other parties involved, 12 during the COVID–19 public health emergency. In issuing 13 the guidance required under this subsection, the Attorney 14 General shall— 15 (1) identify law enforcement-centered promising 16 or model practices for— 17 (A) addressing domestic violence during 18 the COVID–19 public health emergency; 19 (B) adopting and implementing such pro- 20 grams and practices; 21 (C) implementing measures to mitigate ex- 22 posure to COVID–19, including adequate use of 23 personal protective equipment, when responding 24 to domestic violence incidents that create poten- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Mar 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1034.IH H1034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1034 IH tial exposure to COVID–19 for all parties in- 1 volved; and 2 (D) ensuring safety and limiting risk of ex- 3 posure to COVID–19 for family members of law 4 enforcement officers; 5 (2) identify victim-centered promising and 6 model practices for— 7 (A) assessing the potential threat of vio- 8 lence to the victim and their children, while en- 9 suring safety and privacy; 10 (B) safety planning for victims and their 11 children and taking preventive steps to ensure 12 safety for all parties involved during the 13 COVID–19 public health emergency; 14 (C) timely submission of records for do- 15 mestic violence protective orders and other re- 16 lated court orders and convictions for crimes re- 17 lated to intimate partner violence; 18 (D) enforcing domestic violence protective 19 orders, other related court orders, and child 20 custody orders in the context of domestic vio- 21 lence; and 22 (E) ensuring community coordinated re- 23 sponses to domestic violence; and 24 (3) create a resource guide, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Mar 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1034.IH H1034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1034 IH (A) the promising and model practices 1 identified under paragraphs (1) and (2); 2 (B) educational resources on risk factors 3 related to COVID–19 that exacerbate the risk 4 of escalation and lethality of reports of domestic 5 violence, such as fear of illness, drug and alco- 6 hol abuse, economic uncertainty, unemploy- 7 ment, and grief; 8 (C) educational resources on training, in- 9 cluding cultural humility and vicarious trauma, 10 for law enforcement officers responding to do- 11 mestic violence; 12 (D) educational resources on investigation 13 and prosecutorial tools for law enforcement offi- 14 cers responding to domestic violence; 15 (E) resources for victims of domestic vio- 16 lence during the COVID–19 public health emer- 17 gency, including information related to the na- 18 tional domestic violence hotline authorized 19 under section 313 of the Family Violence Pre- 20 vention and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10413). 21 (b) DISSEMINATION.—Not later than 30 days after 22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 23 shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Mar 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1034.IH H1034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1034 IH (1) issue the guidance developed under sub- 1 section (a) directly to Federal, State, local, and trib- 2 al law enforcement agencies; 3 (2) make the guidance publicly available by 4 posting the guidance electronically on the website of 5 the Department of Justice; 6 (3) collaborate with the Secretary of Health 7 and Human Services to make the guidance available 8 on the website of the Department of Health and 9 Human Services. 10 (c) EXTENSION.—The Attorney General may extend 11 the deadlines under subsections (a) and (b), in the case 12 that meeting such deadlines is impracticable. In the case 13 that the Attorney General extends such a deadline pursu- 14 ant to this subsection, the Attorney General shall notify 15 Congress, which notification shall include a date before 16 which the Attorney General will complete each such re- 17 quirement. 18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 19 In this Act: 20 (1) The term ‘‘domestic violence’’ has the 21 meaning given the term under section 40002(a)(8) 22 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement 23 Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(8)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Mar 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1034.IH H1034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1034 IH (2) The term ‘‘COVID–19 public health emer- 1 gency’’ means the period beginning on the date on 2 which the emergency period under section 3 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 4 1320b–5(g)(1) was declared and ending 90 days 5 after the date on which such period ends. 6 (3) The term ‘‘COVID–19’’ means the 2019 7 Novel Coronavirus or 2019–nCoV. 8 (4) The term ‘‘personal protective equipment’’ 9 means any protective equipment required to prevent 10 the wearer from contracting COVID–19, including 11 gloves, N–95 respirator masks, gowns, goggles, face 12 shields, or other equipment required for safety. 13 (5) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 14 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 15 of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin 16 Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. 17 (6) The term ‘‘Federal law enforcement agen- 18 cy’’ includes law enforcement agencies of the Armed 19 Forces. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Mar 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1034.IH H1034 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS