by Daniel Stefanski | Feb 1, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A bill to better protect Arizona’s domestic violence survivors recently passed its first hurdle in the state Legislature.
On Thursday, HB 2177, which was sponsored by State Representative Julie Willoughby, was approved by the Arizona House Appropriations Committee, allowing the proposal to hit the floor of the chamber for a vote from the full body in the near future. The legislation “allocates $400,000 from the state’s General Fund in Fiscal Year 2026 to the Address Confidentiality Program Fund, ensuring victims of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual offenses have greater access to vital protections.”
In a statement accompanying the announcement about the bill’s progress, Willoughby, the House Majority Whip, said, “The last thing survivors should have to worry about is their abuser finding them. This program gives them a way to shield their home address and regain some peace of mind. Strengthening it is not just necessary – it’s the right thing to do. We must make sure this program has the resources to continue providing safety and security for those who need it most.”
According to information provided by Willoughby’s release, the Address Confidentiality Program “allows survivors to use a substitute address for government records, protecting them from being tracked down through public documents;” [and] provides mail forwarding services to ensure participants can safely receive essential correspondence without revealing their actual location.”
HB 2177 was approved by all seventeen members of the committee who were present for that vote. One member was absent. On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, one member from the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence signed in to support the legislation.
The bill will soon be considered by the full body in the Arizona House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass and be transmitted to the state Senate for additional consideration.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Jan 13, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Unmarried couples lead significantly more in the occurrences of domestic violence incidents in Phoenix, and guns were least used overall.
New data from the city of Phoenix’s annual Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team (DVFRT) showed that there were nearly 5,700 domestic violence victims that were the boyfriend or girlfriend out of over 11,100 total reported victims in 2023 — nearly 51 percent.
Comparatively there were just over 1,500 domestic victims that were the spouse, over 1,200 victims that were the parent or step-parent, over 900 victims that were the sibling or step-sibling, over 800 victims that were the child or step-child, over 600 victims that were the former spouse, over 100 victims that were the in-law, about 80 victims that were the grandparent, and over 50 victims that were the grandchild.
Although unmarried couples were the leading source of domestic violence occurrences, the DVFRT selected the near-fatality incident of a married heterosexual couple to make the focus of their Case Review Subcommittee assessment.
The case study did share some of the characteristics common among the other domestic violence incidents: past criminal history and alcohol use. Based on that case study, DVFRT recommended greater involvement of the fire department’s Crisis Response Teams, more medical follow-ups with victims, more trainings for EMTs on strangulation when the victim refuses transportation to a medical facility, amending reporting methods to make “strangulation” a separate category when accounting for use of force, and more frequent follow-ups by victim services case management.
Further on in the report, it was revealed that firearms were far from the first choice for perpetrators. In over 6,500 of the reported cases, perpetrators used their body parts (hands, fists, or feet) to assault their victim. These body part calculations included strangulations.
In over 1,200 incidents, the weapon of choice was categorized as “other.” Knives ranked the third most popular: nearly 700 incidents were reported with knives as the perpetrator’s weapon. Handguns and rifles or shotguns came in last: just over 500 incidents involved a handgun, and less than 50 used a rifle or shotgun.
An overwhelming majority of domestic violence incidents were assaults and aggravated assaults (nearly 13,000 incidents), with criminal damages coming in third (over 4,400 incidents), and an order of protection violation coming in fourth (over 2,800 incidents).
In over 2,200 incidents, the perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol; in over 600 incidents, the perpetrator was under the influence of a drug or narcotic. That accounts for over 25 percent of all reported incidents.
The DVFRT report stated that police responded to over 33,700 calls for domestic violence. Of those calls, over 23,100 resulted in incident reports, over 8,500 adults were arrested, and over 400 juveniles were “contacted.” Out of those arrests, nearly 2,800 were for aggravated assault and over 260 were for aggravated domestic violence, which concerns individuals convicted of three or more acts of domestic violence over a seven-year period.
DVFRT is overseen by leaders of the city’s Family Advocacy Center and Phoenix Police Department, with members from the city’s Human Services Department, Arizona State University, Maricopa Association of Governments, Phoenix Fire Department, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, the city’s Prosecutor’s Office, Department of Economic Security, the organizations A New Leaf and La Frontera Empact, and Honor Health.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Apr 4, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
As more bills make their way to Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs’ office, the rate of usage for her veto stamp has accelerated.
On Monday, Governor Hobbs vetoed four pieces of legislation that were recently transmitted from the Legislature to her office, giving her a total of 24 vetoes for this session.
The bills that Hobbs vetoed were HB 2427 (sponsored by Representative Matt Gress), HB 2440 (sponsored by Representative Gail Griffin), HB 2472 (sponsored by Representative Steve Montenegro), and HB 2056 (sponsored by Representative Lupe Diaz).
HB 2427 would have classified, “as aggravated assault punishable as a class 3 felony, assault against a pregnant victim if the person knows or has reason to know the victim is pregnant and circumstances exist that classify the offense as domestic violence.” In her veto letter, Hobbs pointed to “Arizona’s leading advocacy organization for victims of domestic violence” saying that the bill “will do nothing to deter domestic violence offenses or support pregnant victims.”
This bill garnered the most outrage out of the four Hobbs vetoed Monday. Bill sponsor, Matt Gress, responded on Twitter, saying, “Regarding HB 2427, I’ll never apologize for toughening penalties on abusers who assault pregnant women.”
The Arizona Freedom Caucus tweeted, “Hobbs vetoed a bill requiring harsher punishments for people convicted of domestic violence of a pregnant woman.”
However, as expected, Legislative Democrats cheered the governor’s veto of this bill immediately following the announcement from her office. Senator Anna Hernandez said, “This veto was crucial for protecting Arizonans from an underhanded attack on reproductive justice. Representative Gress and the Joint Republicans Caucus’ continued assault on our rights to safe and accessible abortion indicate that their ‘pro-life’ stance has always been about control not care.” And Representative Analise Ortiz added, “The Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence agreed that HB 2427 did nothing to protect survivors. To prevent domestic violence, we must invest in real solutions by expanding access to counseling, housing, childcare, and economic stability.”
HB 2440 would have required “public power entities and public service corporations to prioritize reliable and affordable electric service when conducting infrastructure planning and investments.” Hobbs justified her decision by writing that the bill “is unnecessary and creates regulatory uncertainty in instances where affordability and reliability may be at odds.”
HB 2472 would have prohibited “the State of Arizona from requiring a bank or financial institution to use a social credit score when the bank or financial institution evaluates whether to lend money to a customer.” Hobbs explained that she believed “this bill is overly vague and should not be codified into law,” in part, because “it does not define ‘social credit scores’ – nor do those systems exist anywhere in the United States.”
HB 2056 would have exempted “a dry wash, arroyo, swale, gully or rill or other similar erosional feature that is characterized by low volume, infrequent or short duration flows from the Dredge and Fill Permit Program.” Hobbs argued that this bill created “regulatory confusion and uncertainty by forcing an unnecessary conflict between state law and the federal determination of Waters of the United States.”
House Speaker Ben Toma addressed the pattern of vetoes from the Ninth Floor of the Arizona Executive Tower, stating: “Issuing vetoes is easy. Actual leadership requires hard work, and Republicans in the legislature will continue to pass good public policies that make the state better for working Arizonans and families.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
