Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2843 To reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 13, 2019 Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. LEAHY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. HARRIS, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. SHA- HEEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. WARREN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. SMITH, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BROWN, Mr. UDALL, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. REED, Mr. CARPER, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. CASEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. TESTER, Mr. WARNER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BENNET, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. COONS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. KING, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. PETERS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. JONES) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Nov 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2843.IS S2843 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2843 IS (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Universal definitions and grant conditions. Sec. 3. Agency and department coordination. Sec. 4. Effective date. Sec. 5. Availability of funds. TITLE I—ENHANCING LEGAL TOOLS TO COMBAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING Sec. 101. Stop grants. Sec. 102. Grants to improve the criminal justice response. Sec. 103. Legal assistance for victims. Sec. 104. Grants to support families in the justice system. Sec. 105. Outreach and services to underserved populations grants. Sec. 106. Criminal provisions. Sec. 107. Rape survivor child custody. Sec. 108. Enhancing culturally specific services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Sec. 109. Grants for lethality assessment programs. TITLE II—IMPROVING SERVICES FOR VICTIMS Sec. 201. Sexual assault services program. Sec. 202. Rural domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and child abuse enforcement assistance program. Sec. 203. Training and services to end violence against people with disabilities. Sec. 204. Training and services to end abuse in later life. Sec. 205. Demonstration program on trauma-informed training for law enforce- ment. TITLE III—SERVICES, PROTECTION, AND JUSTICE FOR YOUNG VICTIMS Sec. 301. Rape prevention and education grant. Sec. 302. Creating hope through outreach, options, services, and education (CHOOSE) for children and youth. Sec. 303. Grants to combat violent crimes on campuses. Sec. 304. Combat online predators. TITLE IV—VIOLENCE REDUCTION PRACTICES Sec. 401. Study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sec. 402. Saving Money and Reducing Tragedies (SMART) through prevention grants. TITLE V—STRENGTHENING THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS RESPONSE Sec. 501. Grants to strengthen the health care systems response to domestic vi- olence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. TITLE VI—SAFE HOMES FOR VICTIMS VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Nov 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2843.IS S2843 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2843 IS Sec. 601. Housing protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Sec. 602. Ensuring compliance and implementation; prohibiting retaliation against victims. Sec. 603. Protecting the right to report crime from one’s home. Sec. 604. Transitional housing assistance grants for victims of domestic vio- lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Sec. 605. Addressing the housing needs of victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Sec. 606. United States Housing Act of 1937 amendments. TITLE VII—ECONOMIC SECURITY FOR VICTIMS Sec. 701. Findings. Sec. 702. National Resource Center on workplace responses to assist victims of domestic and sexual violence. Sec. 703. Entitlement to unemployment compensation for victims of sexual and other harassment and survivors of domestic violence, sexual as- sault, or stalking. Sec. 704. Study and reports on barriers to survivors’ economic security access. Sec. 705. GAO study. Sec. 706. Education and information programs for survivors. Sec. 707. Severability. TITLE VIII—HOMICIDE REDUCTION INITIATIVES Sec. 801. Prohibiting persons convicted of misdemeanor crimes against dating partners and persons subject to protection orders. Sec. 802. Prohibiting stalkers and individuals subject to court order from pos- sessing a firearm. TITLE IX—SAFETY FOR INDIAN WOMEN Sec. 901. Findings and purpose. Sec. 902. Authorization for Tribal Access Program. Sec. 903. Tribal jurisdiction over covered crimes. Sec. 904. Reports. TITLE X—OFFICE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Sec. 1001. Establishment of Office on Violence Against Women. TITLE XI—IMPROVING CONDITIONS FOR WOMEN IN FEDERAL CUSTODY Sec. 1101. Improving the treatment of primary caretaker parents and other in- dividuals in Federal prisons. Sec. 1102. Public health and safety of women. Sec. 1103. Research and report on women in Federal incarceration. Sec. 1104. Reentry planning and services for incarcerated women. TITLE XII—LAW ENFORCEMENT TOOLS TO ENHANCE PUBLIC SAFETY Sec. 1201. Notification to law enforcement agencies of prohibited purchase or attempted purchase of a firearm. Sec. 1202. Reporting of background check denials to State, local, and Tribal authorities. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Nov 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2843.IS S2843 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2843 IS Sec. 1203. Special assistant United States attorneys and cross-deputized attor- neys. TITLE XIII—CLOSING THE LAW ENFORCEMENT CONSENT LOOPHOLE Sec. 1301. Short title. Sec. 1302. Prohibition on engaging in sexual acts while acting under color of law. Sec. 1303. Incentives for States. Sec. 1304. Reports to Congress. Sec. 1305. Definition. TITLE XIV—OTHER MATTERS Sec. 1401. National stalker and domestic violence reduction. Sec. 1402. Federal victim assistants reauthorization. Sec. 1403. Child abuse training programs for judicial personnel and practi- tioners reauthorization. Sec. 1404. Sex offender management. Sec. 1405. Court-appointed special advocate program. Sec. 1406. Rape kit backlog. Sec. 1407. Sexual assault forensic exam program grants. Sec. 1408. Review on link between substance use and victims of domestic vio- lence dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Sec. 1409. Interagency working group to study Federal efforts to collect data on sexual violence. TITLE XV—CYBERCRIME ENFORCEMENT Sec. 1501. Local law enforcement grants for enforcement of cybercrimes. Sec. 1502. National Resource Center grant. Sec. 1503. National strategy, classification, and reporting on cybercrime. SEC. 2. UNIVERSAL DEFINITIONS AND GRANT CONDITIONS. 1 Section 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act 2 of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291) is amended— 3 (1) in subsection (a)— 4 (A) by striking ‘‘In this title’’ and insert- 5 ing ‘‘In this title, including for the purpose of 6 grants authorized under this title’’; 7 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (34) 8 through (45) as paragraphs (42) through (53), 9 respectively; 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Nov 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2843.IS S2843 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2843 IS (C) by redesignating paragraphs (18) 1 through (33) as paragraphs (25) through (40), 2 respectively; 3 (D) by redesignating paragraph (16) as 4 paragraph (23); 5 (E) by redesignating paragraph (17) as 6 paragraph (22) and moving it to appear before 7 paragraph (23), as so redesignated; 8 (F) by redesignating paragraphs (13) 9 through (15) as paragraphs (19) through (21), 10 respectively; 11 (G) by striking paragraphs (8), (11), and 12 (12); 13 (H) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and 14 (10) as paragraphs (10) and (11), respectively; 15 (I) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and 16 (7) as paragraphs (8) and (9), respectively; 17 (J) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 18 paragraph (7) and moving it to appear before 19 paragraph (8), as so redesignated; 20 (K) by striking paragraph (5); 21 (L) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 22 (4) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; 23 (M) by redesignating paragraph (1) as 24 paragraph (2); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Nov 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2843.IS S2843 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2843 IS (N) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 1 so redesignated, the following: 2 ‘‘(1) ABUSE IN LATER LIFE.—The term ‘abuse 3 in later life’— 4 ‘‘(A) means— 5 ‘‘(i) neglect, abandonment, economic 6 abuse, or willful harm of an adult over the 7 age of 50 by an individuals in an ongoing 8 relationship of trust with the victim; or 9 ‘‘(ii) domestic violence, dating vio- 10 lence, sexual assault, or stalking of an 11 adult over the age of 50 by any individual; 12 and 13 ‘‘(B) does not include self-neglect.’’; 14 (O) by inserting after paragraph (2), as so 15 redesignated, the following: 16 ‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVE JUSTICE RESPONSE.—The 17 term ‘alternative justice response’ means a process, 18 whether court-ordered or community-based, that— 19 ‘‘(A) involves, on a voluntary basis, and to 20 the extent possible, those who have committed 21 a specific offense and those who have been 22 harmed as a result of the offense; 23 ‘‘(B) has the goal of collectively seeking ac- 24 countability from the accused, and developing a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Nov 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2843.IS S2843 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2843 IS process whereby the accused will take responsi- 1 bility for his or her actions, and a plan for pro- 2 viding relief to those harmed, through allocu- 3 tion, restitution, community service, or other 4 processes upon which the victim, the accused, 5 the community, and the court (if court-ordered) 6 can agree; 7 ‘‘(C) is conducted in a framework that pro- 8 tects victim safety and supports victim auton- 9 omy; and 10 ‘‘(D) provides that information disclosed 11 during such process may not be used for any 12 other law enforcement purpose, including im- 13 peachment or prosecution, without the express 14 permission of all participants.’’; 15 (P) by inserting after paragraph (5), as so 16 redesignated, the following: 17 ‘‘(6) COURT-BASED AND COURT-RELATED PER- 18 SONNEL.—The terms ‘court-based personnel’ and 19 ‘court-related personnel’ mean persons working in 20 the court, whether paid or volunteer, including— 21 ‘‘(A) clerks, special masters, domestic rela- 22 tions officers, administrators, mediators, cus- 23 tody evaluators, guardians ad litem, lawyers, 24 negotiators, probation, parole, interpreters, vic- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Nov 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2843.IS S2843 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2843 IS tim assistants, victim advocates, and judicial, 1 administrative, or any other professionals or 2 personnel similarly involved in the legal process; 3 ‘‘(B) court security personnel; 4 ‘‘(C) personnel working in related, supple- 5 mentary offices or programs (such as child sup- 6 port enforcement); and 7 ‘‘(D) any other court-based or community- 8 based personnel having responsibilities or au- 9 thority to address domestic violence, dating vio- 10 lence, sexual assault, or stalking in the court 11 system.’’; 12 (Q) by inserting after paragraph (11), as 13 so redesignated, the following: 14 ‘‘(12) DIGITAL SERVICES.—The term ‘digital 15 services’ means services, resources, information, sup- 16 port or referrals provided through electronic commu- 17 nications platforms and media, whether via mobile 18 device technology, video technology, or computer 19 technology, including utilizing the internet, as well 20 as any other emerging communications technologies 21 that are appropriate for the purposes of providing 22 services, resources, information, support, or referrals 23 for the benefit of victims of domestic violence, dating 24 violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Nov 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2843.IS S2843 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2843 IS ‘‘(13) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘domes- 1 tic violence’ includes a felony or misdemeanor of- 2 fense under the family or domestic violence laws of 3 a jurisdiction receiving grant funds, and in the case 4 of victim services, includes a pattern of behavior in- 5 volving the use or attempted use of physical, sexual, 6 verbal, psychological, economic, or technological 7 abuse or any other coercive behavior committed, en- 8 abled, or solicited to gain or maintain power and 9 control over a victim, by a person who— 10 ‘‘(A) is a current or former spouse or dat- 11 ing partner of the victim, or other person simi- 12 larly situated to a spouse of the victim; 13 ‘‘(B) is cohabitating with or has 14 cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or dat- 15 ing partner; 16 ‘‘(C) shares a child in common with the 17 victim; 18 ‘‘(D) is an adult family member of, or paid 19 or nonpaid caregiver in an ongoing relationship 20 of trust with a victim aged 50 or older or an 21 adult victim with disabilities; or 22 ‘‘(E) commits acts against a youth or adult 23 victim who is protected from those acts under 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Nov 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2843.IS S2843 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2843 IS the family or domestic violence laws of the ju- 1 risdiction. 2 ‘‘(14) ECONOMIC ABUSE.—The term ‘economic 3 abuse’, in the context of domestic violence, dating vi- 4 olence, and abuse in later life, means behavior that 5 is coercive, deceptive, or unreasonably controls or re- 6 strains a person’s ability to acquire, use, or maintain 7 economic resources to which they are entitled, in- 8 cluding using coercion, fraud, or manipulation to— 9 ‘‘(A) restrict a person’s access to money, 10 assets, credit, or financial information; 11 ‘‘(B) unfairly use a person’s personal eco- 12 nomic resources, including money, assets, and 13 credit, for one’s own advantage; or 14 ‘‘(C) exert undue influence over a person’s 15 financial and ec [Text truncated for display. 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