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2015 SESSION

15103081D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 603
Offered January 14, 2015
Prefiled January 13, 2015
Establishing a joint subcommittee to study the prevention of sexual violence on the campuses of public and private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth. Report.
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Patron-- Knight
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, in the April 2014 report Preventing Sexual Violence on College Campuses: Lessons from Research and Practice, which was prepared for the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, Sarah DeGue, Ph.D., of the Division of Violence Prevention for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), wrote "sexual violence is a serious public health problem affecting the health and well-being of millions of individuals each year in the United States and throughout the world, with notably high rates among college students"; and

WHEREAS, sexual assault is ultimately about power, control, and violence and generally is not associated with sex or sexual attraction, according to the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center at the University of Michigan and Dr. David Lisak at the University of Massachusetts, author of Understanding the Predatory Nature of Sexual Violence; and

WHEREAS, according to the CDC, nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have been raped in their lifetime; approximately 1 in 20 women and men have experienced sexual violence other than rape; and 13 percent of women and 6 percent of men have experienced sexual coercion during their lifetime; and

WHEREAS, the CDC has reported that, nationally, 37.4 percent of female rape victims were first raped between the ages of 18 and 24, and a study of undergraduate women found that 19 percent of study participants had experienced attempted or completed sexual assault since entering college; and

WHEREAS, summarizing a series of articles entitled "Sexual Assault on College Campuses: A Culture of Indifference," Investigative Journalism for the Pacific Northwest reported that the incidence of sexual assault on college campuses continues to rise due to denial about the scope of the problem, virtually nonexistent discipline for alleged perpetrators, and fragmented school reporting channels and poor disposition for handling campus crimes, which compounds the trauma experienced by rape victims, leaving them to bear the emotional, physical, and financial anguish of the assault; and

WHEREAS, confused and bewildered, some women delay reporting a sexual assault while others may report assaults to police, friends, faculty members, doctors, or a sexual assault counseling center; and

WHEREAS, sexual assault crosses all barriers and genders, and same-gender assaults are not uncommon on college campuses, according to Rebecca Norman, development director of the Bradley Angle domestic violence shelter in Portland, Oregon; and

WHEREAS, according to, "Sexual Assault on College Campuses: A Culture of Indifference," Investigative Journalism for the Pacific Northwest, 62 percent of sexual assaults are drug-facilitated and involve alcohol or drugs, making sex and drinking a dangerous mix on college campuses, contributing to the high prevalence of sexual assault, and rendering such alleged assaults difficult to prosecute; and

WHEREAS, on March 7, 2013, President Barack Obama signed into law the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (Pub. Law 113-4), which, among other provisions, amended § 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, otherwise known as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act; and

WHEREAS, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act requires that public and private colleges and universities participating in federal student aid programs disclose campus safety information, including domestic and dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault statistics, and imposes certain basic policies and procedures, an annual security report, and requirements for handling incidents of sexual violence and emergency situations on campus; and

WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, there are currently 78 universities with pending Title IX sexual violence investigations, many of which are related to complaints relating to the handling of assault reports by the universities; and

WHEREAS, § 23-9.1:1 of the Code of Virginia requires that "[t]he board of visitors or the governing body of any public institution of higher education in Virginia shall make available to any interested party upon request a copy of that portion of the most recent report of the Uniform Crime Reporting Section of the Department of State Police entitled Crime in Virginia pertaining to colleges and universities"; and

WHEREAS, Governor Terry McAuliffe formed the Task Force on Combating Campus Sexual Violence on August 21, 2014, chaired by Attorney General Mark Herring, and the task force has been charged to help address immediate and long-term issues pertaining to sexual violence on the Commonwealth's college campuses; and

WHEREAS, a thorough examination of sexual assault on the Commonwealth's public and private college and university campuses must be undertaken to ensure the coordination of public policy that will benefit all students, prevent college campus sexual violence, and enhance campus safety; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That a joint subcommittee be established to study the prevention of sexual violence on the campuses of public and private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth. The joint subcommittee shall have a total membership of 13 members that shall consist of eight legislative members, three nonlegislative citizen members, and two ex officio members. Members shall be appointed as follows: five members of the House of Delegates to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates; three members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; two nonlegislative citizen members, of whom one shall be the president of a public college or university in the Commonwealth, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; and one nonlegislative citizen member who shall be the president of a private college or university in the Commonwealth, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. The Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security or his designee and the Secretary of Education or her designee shall serve ex officio with nonvoting privileges. Nonlegislative citizen members of the joint subcommittee shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. Unless otherwise approved in writing by the chairman of the joint subcommittee and the respective Clerk, nonlegislative citizen members shall only be reimbursed for travel originating and ending within the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of attending meetings. If a companion joint resolution of the other chamber is agreed to, written authorization of both Clerks shall be required. The joint subcommittee shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership, who shall be members of the General Assembly.

In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall (i) ascertain the breadth of the problem of sexual violence on public and private college campuses in the Commonwealth; (ii) review all relevant state and federal laws, regulations, and policies to identify appropriate ways in which sexual violence may be abated; (iii) assess the policies, process, and procedures for reporting crimes of sexual violence used by colleges and universities in the Commonwealth; (iv) determine whether any institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth have pending U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights investigations for the manner in which allegations and reports of sexual violence have been managed; (v) collaborate with other local, state, federal, college, and community advocates and police departments and entities to address the problem throughout the Commonwealth's higher education and criminal justice systems and among parents and students; (vi) make recommendations to ensure safe college and university campuses throughout the Commonwealth; and (vii) carry out any other duties the joint subcommittee deems proper to facilitate the purposes of this resolution.

Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates. Legal, research, policy analysis, and other services as requested by the joint subcommittee shall be provided by the Division of Legislative Services. Technical assistance shall be provided by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the joint subcommittee for this study, upon request.

The joint subcommittee shall be limited to four meetings for the 2015 interim, and the direct costs of this study shall not exceed $19,640 without approval as set out in this resolution. Of this amount an estimated $1,000 is allocated for speakers, materials, and other resources. Approval for unbudgeted nonmember-related expenses shall require the written authorization of the chairman of the joint subcommittee and the respective Clerk. If a companion joint resolution of the other chamber is agreed to, written authorization of both Clerks shall be required.

No recommendation of the joint subcommittee shall be adopted if a majority of the House members or a majority of the Senate members appointed to the joint subcommittee (i) vote against the recommendation and (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the joint subcommittee.

The joint subcommittee shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2015, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2016 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether the joint subcommittee intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and the report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.

Implementation of this resolution is subject to subsequent approval and certification by the Joint Rules Committee. The Committee may approve or disapprove expenditures for this study, extend or delay the period for the conduct of the study, or authorize additional meetings during the 2015 interim.