Pet and Women Safety Act of 2017

Key: what the circles and colors mean

Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:

IntroducedPassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law (gold)Resolution agreed to (full, dark)Failed or vetoed (gray)

Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.

Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.

Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 115th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.

D PetersSponsor

41 cosponsors · 35 D, 5 R, 1 I

1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.

This bill amends the federal criminal code to broaden the definition of stalking to include conduct that causes a person to experience a reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury to his or her pet.

What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Feb 7, 2017

Pet and Women Safety Act of 2017

Additionally, an interstate violation of a protection order includes interstate travel with the intent to violate a protection order against a pet that is included within the scope of the protection order. The bill specifies the applicable criminal penalty—a prison term of up to five years, a fine, or both—for a person who commits an interstate violation of a protection order against a pet.

With respect to a defendant who commits a domestic violence offense or an interstate violation of a protection order, mandatory restitution in the "full amount of victim's losses" includes costs incurred for veterinary services related to the pet.

The bill directs the Department of Agriculture to award grants for shelter and housing assistance and support services for domestic violence victims with pets.

Finally, it expresses the sense of Congress that states should include, in domestic violence protection orders, protections against violence or threats against a person's pet.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov

About this bill and sources

Official title: Pet and Women Safety Act of 2017

Latest action (Feb 7, 2017): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Feb 7, 2017

Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)

No recorded floor vote found.