Title: Domestic Violence Public Health Emergency Guidance Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Domestic Violence Public Health Emergency Guidance Act
This bill requires the Department of Justice to issue guidance to law enforcement agencies on best practices for addressing domestic violence and protecting the safety of law enforcement officers during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6633 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6633

 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

                             April 28, 2020

    Ms. Wexton (for herself, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. 
 Grijalva, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Hastings, Mrs. Carolyn B. 
Maloney of New York, Ms. Norton, Ms. Escobar, Ms. Mucarsel-Powell, Mr. 
Lynch, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Soto, Mr. 
 Cox of California, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. McGovern, 
Ms. Porter, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Miss Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto 
   Rico, Ms. Spanberger, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Carson of 
 Indiana, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Smith of Washington, and 
  Mr. Heck) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Domestic Violence Public Health 
Emergency Guidance Act''.

SEC. 2. GUIDANCE ON ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DURING THE COVID-19 
              PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.

    (a) Guidance.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services and, to the extent practicable, domestic 
violence stakeholders and State, local, and tribal law enforcement 
stakeholders, shall issue guidance to Federal, State, local, and tribal 
law enforcement agencies which contain promising and best practices for 
addressing domestic violence and protecting the safety of law 
enforcement officers and all other parties involved, during the COVID-
19 public health emergency. In issuing the guidance required under this 
subsection, the Attorney General shall--
            (1) identify law enforcement-centered promising and best 
        practices for--
                    (A) addressing domestic violence during the COVID-
                19 public health emergency;
                    (B) adopting and implementing such programs and 
                practices;
                    (C) implementing measures to mitigate exposure to 
                COVID-19, including adequate use of personal protective 
                equipment, when responding to domestic violence 
                incidents that create potential exposure to COVID-19 
                for all parties involved; and
                    (D) ensuring safety and limiting risk of exposure 
                to COVID-19 for family members of law enforcement 
                officers;
            (2) identify victim-centered promising and best practices 
        for--
                    (A) assessing the potential threat of violence to 
                the victim and their children, while ensuring safety 
                and privacy;
                    (B) safety planning for victims and their children 
                and taking preventive steps to ensure safety for all 
                parties involved during the COVID-19 public health 
                emergency;
                    (C) timely submission of records for domestic 
                violence protective orders and other related court 
                orders and convictions for crimes related to intimate 
                partner violence in the national criminal instant 
                background check system;
                    (D) enforcing domestic violence protective orders, 
                other related court orders, and child custody orders in 
                the context of domestic violence; and
                    (E) ensuring community coordinated responses to 
                domestic violence; and
            (3) create a resource guide, including--
                    (A) the promising and best practices identified 
                under paragraphs (1) and (2);
                    (B) educational resources on risk factors related 
                to COVID-19 that exacerbate the risk of escalation and 
                lethality of reports of domestic violence, such as fear 
                of illness, drug and alcohol abuse, economic 
                uncertainty, unemployment, and grief;
                    (C) educational resources on training, including 
                cultural humility and vicarious trauma, for law 
                enforcement officers responding to domestic violence;
                    (D) educational resources on investigation and 
                prosecutorial tools for law enforcement officers 
                responding to domestic violence;
                    (E) resources for victims of domestic violence 
                during the COVID-19 public health emergency, including 
                information related to the national domestic violence 
                hotline authorized under section 313 of the Family 
                Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10413).
    (b) Dissemination.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall--
            (1) issue the guidance developed under subsection (a) 
        directly to Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement 
        agencies;
            (2) make the guidance publicly available by posting the 
        guidance electronically on the website of the Department of 
        Justice;
            (3) collaborate with the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services to make the guidance available on the website of the 
        Department of Health and Human Services.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``domestic violence'' has the meaning given 
        the term under section 40002(a)(8) of the Violent Crime Control 
        and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(8)).
            (2) The term ``COVID-19 public health emergency'' means the 
        period beginning on the date on which the emergency period 
        under section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 
        U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1) was declared and ending 90 days after the 
        date on which such period ends.
            (3) The term ``COVID-19'' means the 2019 Novel Coronavirus 
        or 2019-nCoV.
            (4) The term ``personal protective equipment'' means any 
        protective equipment required to prevent the wearer from 
        contracting COVID-19, including gloves, N-95 respirator masks, 
        gowns, goggles, face shields, or other equipment required for 
        safety.
            (5) The term ``State'' means each of the several States, 
        the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
        Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern 
        Mariana Islands.
            (6) The term ``Federal law enforcement agency'' includes 
        law enforcement agencies of the Armed Forces.
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