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PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Inform~Inspire~Connect

The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence believes that by sharing expertise,

advocates and legislators can end domestic violence. Every day we inspire, inform and

connect all of those working on this issue, because together we're stronger.

Federal Update
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)VAWA

Last week, the Senate passed a strong VAWA reauthorization with a bipartisan 78-22 vote. Senators Feinstein and Boxer both cosponsored the bill and continue to be steadfast champions for efforts to end domestic and sexual violence.

 

Our work is not done! The House of Representatives must now act to pass a VAWA bill. At this time it is not clear if the House leadership will take up the Senate bill or introduce its own version. Call your representative today and urge them to bring the bipartisan Senate bill to the House floor for a vote. You can look up your House Member here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ 

Federal Funding and Sequestration UpdateFedFunding

All federal programs, including VAWA, FVPSA, and other domestic violence and sexual assault programs, are currently funded through a continuing resolution which expires on March 27th. Congress will need to pass a new funding bill by then to continue all federal government spending. It is likely that Congress will pass a bill to maintain all programs at current levels for the remainder of this fiscal year.

 

You may have heard some news coverage about sequestration (also known as automatic trigger cuts). These are across-the-board spending cuts and in FY 2013, there are meant to be $85 billion in spending cuts, in the first part of nine years' worth of spending cuts. Right now, it is estimated that this would require a 5% across-the-board cut to all government programs without discretion from federal agencies. This includes VAWA, VOCA and FVPSA funding.

 

VAWA would be cut by $20 million; VOCA by $37 million and FVPSA by $6 million. NNEDV estimates that the cuts to VAWA and FVPSA would result in approximately 110,000 fewer victims being served. There is not an estimate available for VOCA (see attached fact sheet).

 

President Obama has been urging Congress to avert the sequestration and Senate Democrats will introduce a bill that, if passed, would do so. There is Republican opposition to this bill because it would increase revenue. There is speculation that even if sequestration is enacted on March 1st, Congress may act in late March to delay it while they develop a better plan. The political negotiations over this are quickly evolving, and the Partnership and NNEDV are continuing to monitor developments and communicate with Members of Congress about the potential impact of sequestration on domestic and sexual violence programs. We will continue to keep you updated as the situation evolves.

California Update
Bill Introduction DeadlineBillIntroduction

This Friday, February 22nd marks the deadline for all bills  to be introduced in the state legislature. Two of the Partnership's priority bills have already been introduced and our third priority bill will be introduced this week. AB 16, by Speaker Perez, seeks to close the current loopholes in the felony domestic violence statute. AB 139, by Assemblymember Holden, will address the audit findings related to the DV Probationer Fee.

 

Many thanks to all of our PPRC members for continuing to review the domestic violence-related bills and inform the Partnership's positions. Click here for information about all of the bills the Partnership is tracking.  

Firearms Legislation Position StatementFirearms

The debate about gun violence and firearms legislation will be a prominent element of this year's legislative session. Recognizing the deadly intersection between firearms and domestic violence, the Partnership has released a general policy position statement on firearms legislation. The position statement is available here and has also been submitted to the relevant legislative committees. The Partnership will also consider taking a formal support or oppose position on specific firearms bills when requested by the bill author or sponsors. 

Request for Case ExamplesCaseExamples

Some of the most effective tools for our advocacy efforts are the examples you can provide for how our priorities directly impact the survivors whom you serve. Please take a few moments to complete this short survey and provide case examples of survivors who have been directly impacted by the issues we are addressing through our policy priorities. Take survey. 

Statewide Week of AdvocacyWeekofAdvocacy

If you have not yet signed up for the campaign, please do so here. The stronger our turnout for March, the greater the impact! 

NO MORE Day -- March 13thNOMOREDay

The Partnership will be participating in NO MORE Day along with domestic and sexual violence organizations across the country. The NO MORE Project has engaged the distribution company for the Academy Award-nominated documentary film, "The Invisible War" to waive the screening fee and make a limited number of screening copies of this powerful documentary available for NO MORE Day.  This is a one-time screening opportunity, which will be organized on a first come, first served basis.  NO MORE, along with the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, will also forward to all screening sites a tool kit for promoting your event, along with resource information.

 

This is a great way to raise awareness and funds, as well as participate in NO MORE Day on March 13th.  In order to make this nation-wide screening day a success, organizations will be required to reply no later than Friday, February 22nd to Sheila Renovitch ([email protected]) with Subject Line:  NO MORE Day/The Invisible War Screening and the following information:

  • Name of your organization
  • Screening location
  • March 13, 2013 / Time
  • Contact Person (Name, email, telephone, shipping address)
  • Estimated number of attendees

NOTE:  The distributors have the right to refuse a secondary screening if there is a previously scheduled screening in your community that day.

Content
Federal Update
California Update


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For questions or concerns about policy-related matters, please contact Krista Niemczyk, Partnership Public Policy Specialist, at [email protected].