Spousal Abuse Is Targeted

Gov. Pete Wilson and the Legislature, spurred by the O.J. Simpson case, are about to approve spending an unprecedented $30 million to assist battered women and intensify prosecution of spousal abusers.

The historic commitment was quietly written into the otherwise austere state budget at the urging of female legislators, who capitalized on the notoriety of the Simpson case to attack an issue they say has been neglected for years.

“It did take O.J. Simpson being accused of brutally murdering his (ex-) wife and a friend . . . and the re-publicizing of his history of battering to make this happen,” Assemblywoman Barbara Friedman (D-North Hollywood) said Tuesday.

The bill (AB 167) was approved by the Senate on a bipartisan 32-2 vote late Monday and is expected to receive similar heavy support in the Assembly. “We’ll be ready to sign it,” a Wilson spokesman said.

Assemblywoman Dede Alpert (D-Coronado), who joined Friedman and Assemblywoman Hilda L. Solis (D-El Monte) in pressing for the funds, said the financial commitment “may be the one bright spot in this year’s budget.”

The bill represents the largest expenditure of its kind by the state, earmarking $23 million during the current and next fiscal years for creating shelters and expanding services for battered women and their children.

The money also would be used to find permanent housing for battered women and provide job training, placement, legal services and classes in family budgeting and child rearing. Now, the state spends only about $1.4 million a year for shelter-related services.

Alpert said there are three times more shelters for animals in California than for abused women. She said most women seeking shelter are turned away for lack of resources and space.

The bill also earmarks $7 million for the state Department of Justice in the next two years for disbursement to local prosecutors for intensified prosecution of wife beaters and other abusers. Included in the bill is a plan for assignment of a single deputy prosecutor to handle domestic violence cases from start to finish instead of sharing the task among several deputy prosecutors.

The prosecution component of the program applies to all victims of domestic violence; the shelter, training and counseling funding is tailored specifically for women. For at least 10 years, the Legislature has enacted various domestic violence laws but has been criticized for failing to follow through with enough money to make a substantial dent in what Alpert called “an epidemic.”

Advocates for victims of spousal abuse praised the measure as a watershed for California. “This is the beginning to put an end, I believe, to domestic violence in California,” said Alana Bowman of the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

The bill was fashioned in private late last week by Wilson and legislative leaders during state budget negotiations. It was quietly sponsored by Friedman, Alpert and Solis, all activists on women’s issues.

“We wanted to do it in a nonconfrontational way,” said a legislative source who asked not to be identified. The source said a high-profile presentation might have jeopardized the effort.

In interviews Tuesday, Alpert, Solis and Friedman said they decided to act because the Simpson case had focused public and legislative attention on the issues of spousal abuse. Concurrently, Wilson and the legislative leaders were close to finishing details on the state budget.

“Timing is everything and we felt this was just really a short window of opportunity in which to act,” Alpert said.

They urged Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) to submit their $30-million plan to the budget negotiators. “He said, ‘Good idea,’ ” Friedman recalled. While other programs such as welfare were cut, the domestic violence funds were added.

Solis said the legislation reflected the emerging viewpoint that domestic violence finally “is going to be placed up there with other heinous crimes.”

The initiative against domestic violence may give Wilson and reelection-conscious lawmakers at least one positive accomplishment to cite in an otherwise bleak state budget, Alpert said.

“Certainly, the reality is the governor wants to be perceived as being strong on this (issue) and the Legislature wants to be perceived as being strong on this,” she said. “We say good for them.”