Justice for All Reauthorization Act
Congress has passed Senate Bill 2577, the Justice For All Reauthorization Act and it now heads to the President for signature. Of particular interest to STOP administrators is that this bill includes language that exempts VAWA grants from the PREA penalties. Unfortunately that won’t help FY 2016 awards since those are already moving forward. And, while nothing is certain, it seems likely that this exemption will start with FY17 awards.
The bill also addresses numerous other sexual assault provisions such as post conviction DNA testing, backlog of rape kits, and strengthening nurse examiner programs, among others. The document attached provides the highlights of the bill. We are so thankful to the many folks who worked tirelessly on this bill. You can find the full text here: https://www.govtrack.us/
For your reference, you can also find a summary of the bill at the AVA Member Resources Page.