House backs domestic violence bill 138-6

AUGUSTA – Comments turned emotional and tears flowed Thursday as the House debated and then overwhelmingly approved a $4.8 million package aimed at preventing violence against women and children.

The bill was approved by a vote of 138-6.

Further votes are needed in both the House and Senate, but the measure would mark the first significant increase in funding to combat violence against women since 1986.

The sponsor of the Violence Intervention and Prevention Act, House Majority Leader Pat Colwell, said the problem is so pervasive that one of every four women will be visited by violence in her lifetime. Maine police and domestic abuse shelters handle an average of 170 domestic abuse complaints per day, and more than 50 percent of murders in the state stem from domestic abuse, he said.

The bill would provide $1.2 million for school-based education, $1 million for community-based education, $1.1 million in direct services to victims and $1.4 million in intervention and prevention efforts including support of agencies and staff.

Thursday’s debate seemed at times to turn the House into an encounter group, as legislators confessed firsthand experience with the problem.

Rep. Julie Ann O’Brien, R-Augusta, said her married life 20 years ago was a mixture of “torture, insanity and violence.” Like many battered wives, O’Brien said she was convinced the violence was all her fault and found it impossible to leave.

Growing up in a family of 10 children with an alcoholic, verbally abusive father was “hell on earth,” said Rep. Patricia A. Blanchette, D-Bangor. Still, her mother stayed. “You just can’t walk out on 10 kids,” she said.

As the owner of a family grocery store in Ellsworth, Rep. Edward Povich, D-Ellsworth, hires numerous female employees. Breaking down in tears, Povich told House members of the “midnight calls” from battered employees who couldn’t make it in to work the next day.

As a teacher, Rep. Nancy B. Sullivan, D-Biddeford, is familiar with mothers and children hiding in hotels after fleeing their homes for their own safety. “I am not afraid of spending the money. My treasure in life is the children. I have dedicated my life to them,” she said.

In a voice choked with emotion, Rep. Deborah L. Simpson, D-Auburn, said the VIP bill should be supported “in memory of the women and children whose voices have been forever silenced.”

In a rare occurrence, House Speaker Michael Saxl stepped down from the rostrum to support the bill and recall the pioneer efforts in the field a decade ago by former Rep. Mary R. Cathcart of Orono, now a state senator. Her words and warning were “anathema to many who walked in these halls,” but members since have learned that investments in efforts to combat violence against women “are a sound investment in our future,” he said.

Children who experience domestic violence are much more likely to commit suicide, commit a crime, and abuse drugs and alcohol, he said.

Passing the bill would demonstrate to state residents that “we are listening and we are responsive to their needs,” Saxl said.

Majority Leader Colwell admitted that passing the bill was the easy part. Getting complete funding from the Appropriations Committee will be the hard part. The funding request represents about $4 from each resident in the state, he said.

“It will take $4 per person to make the state a safer place. Is it worth it?” he asked House members.

Support proved to be strong on both sides of the aisle as House Minority Leader Joseph Bruno, a co-sponsor, supported the bill emphatically but warned that “fiscal reality” dictated a funding level of something less than $4.8 million.

Rep. Thomas W. Murphy, R-Kennebunk, said Maine must change the attitude against domestic violence much as it did against drunk drivers. “We used to laugh at drunk drivers. Now we realize how dangerous they are and how much help they need,” he said. Murphy said he was prouder of voting for the VIP bill than anything he has done during his seven terms in the Legislature.

The sole voice against the bill was that of Rep. Susan Kasprzak, R-Newport, who questioned the violence statistics over the past 10 years and the correlation between spending millions of dollars and improvements in domestic violence. “We need a new heart and a new spirit” to combat violence,” she said.

Joining Kasprzak in votes against the bill were Republican Reps. Clifton E. Foster of Gray, Thomas Shields of Auburn, Brian M. Duprey of Hampden, Jay MacDougall of North Berwick and Paul Waterhouse of Bridgton.

The bill moves to the Senate, where a positive vote would move it to the Appropriations Committee and a final decision on funding.