Melanie's Law
Introduced May 11, 2026 · Last action May 11, 2026
Plain English Summary
This bill creates a federal grant program authorizing $200 million per year through 2036 to help states implement and enforce 'Melanie's Law' protective orders—court orders that protect family members (including distant relatives by blood or marriage) of people in intimate relationships from domestic violence. States must have these protective order authorities in place to receive grants, which fund law enforcement training, court systems, victim services, and legal aid related to domestic violence cases.
Who benefits
State governments (criminal and family courts, law enforcement agencies), domestic violence victim advocates and service providers, civil legal aid organizations, victims of domestic violence and their family members seeking protective orders, domestic violence hotline operators and counselors, emergency shelter operators, victims' rights organizations.
Who pays / loses
Federal taxpayers (via $200 million annual federal appropriations), states that do not implement qualifying Melanie's Law protective order authorities (ineligible for grants), individuals who would be protected under the new protective order authorities but live in non-compliant states.
Fiscal note: $200,000,000 per fiscal year for fiscal years 2026 through 2036 (10-year authorization period totaling $2 billion if fully funded)
Funding & Lobbying Interests
Domestic violence victim service organizations, civil legal aid providers, state and local law enforcement agencies, and state court systems are the primary financial beneficiaries and likely proponents of this legislation. Organizations such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline, local domestic violence coalitions, state attorney general offices, and judicial administration groups typically advocate for federal grants supporting domestic violence protective order infrastructure. No donor finance data was provided in the bill documentation.
Political Impact
Affected Groups
Domestic violence victims (disproportionately women, estimated 1 in 4 women experience severe intimate partner violence according to CDC data, though the bill text does not provide specific prevalence numbers), family members of intimate partners (including adult children, parents, siblings) who may be targets of abuse by the non-partner individual, states with fewer existing victim service resources (rural and lower-income states), state courts and law enforcement agencies responsible for issuing and enforcing protective orders.
Political Subtext
Proponents argue this bill addresses a gap in existing domestic violence law by extending protective order authority to family members of intimate partners (e.g., cases where an abuser harms the victim's parent or sibling), increases access to victim services in underserved areas, and improves coordination between fragmented court and law enforcement systems. Critics, if any exist, might argue the bill creates federal mandates requiring states to adopt new protective order statutes without establishing a clear federal baseline, potentially shifting costs to state budgets, or that the grant amounts are insufficient relative to state implementation costs. No non-partisan fiscal or policy analysis (CBO score, GAO assessment, academic consensus) is cited in the bill text.
Real-World Stakes
If enacted, all states seeking federal domestic violence grant funding must amend their protective order statutes to include the Melanie's Law authorities, creating uniform national authority for family member protection in intimate partner violence cases. States will establish or enhance tracking systems for protective orders, improving enforcement consistency. Victims in compliant states gain access to expanded legal aid, shelter, counseling, and safety resources. States without existing robust victim services infrastructure (typically rural and lower-income states) will receive formula-based minimum funding (0.5% of appropriation per state) regardless of population. The bill does not specify what happens if a state refuses to adopt the protective order authorities, leaving enforcement mechanism unclear. Analogous federal victim services grants (Victims of Crime Act, Violence Against Women Act grants) have historically incentivized state law changes through conditional funding, suggesting this bill follows a proven model, though outcome data for similar protective order expansions at the state level is not cited in the bill text.
Sponsor
Sponsor information not available.
Vote Record
No recorded votes.
Campaign Finance — Primary Sponsor
No campaign finance data available yet.
501(c)(4) disclosure: Contributions from 501(c)(4) "dark money" organizations are not required to be publicly disclosed and are not reflected in the figures above. Data sourced from FEC public disclosure filings.
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