On December 4, the House Judiciary Committee approved, by voice vote, the Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act (H.R. 3627).
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC), would require the attorney general to report on state penalties for child abuse. The report would describe whether states provide enhanced penalties for child abuse when the victim has suffered “serious bodily injury, or permanent or protracted loss of impairment of any mental or emotional function.” The bill also would provide for increased penalties for repeat perpetrators of child abuse.
