About Alina's Light and Alina's Law
Alina's Light
Alina’s Light was created to honor Alina’s life and light by supporting the causes that were important to her, as well as raising awareness and promoting education on topics relating to domestic violence. Alina’s Light will also promote the passage and implementation of laws and policies that protect victims of domestic violence, such as Pennsylvania House Bill 1150, which has been titled “Alina’s Law”.
Alina's Law
Our law would transform them from a mere piece of paper to a lifesaving resort for victims of domestic violence. If stricter policies were in place two years ago, Alina would still be here. Although we cannot bring her back, we hope to save many lives in her honor. Women that would otherwise also be failed by the system. Women that are doing everything right.
Timeline
Initial Senate Bill (2017-2018 Session) – SB 196:
The first iteration of Alina’s Law was introduced as SB 196 in the Pennsylvania Senate. It passed unanimously in the Senate in 2017 but stalled in the House due to concerns from the ACLU about civil liberties and surveillance issues related to electronic monitoring.
House Bill Introductions:
- 2019-2020 Session (HB 1747): Alina’s Law was reintroduced in the House as HB 1747. However, it again failed to gain traction and did not make it out of committee.
- 2021-2022 Session (HB 156): In this session, the law was brought forward again as HB 156, but like previous attempts, it stalled in committee, failing to move forward.
- 2023-2024 Session (HB 1150): The most recent version of Alina’s Law, HB 1150, was advanced out of committee but had been heavily amended. The electronic monitoring provisions were removed, and the bill was converted into a grant program for district attorneys, with no requirement to use the funds for domestic violence cases. The Sheykhet family expressed disappointment with the gutted version, feeling it no longer honored Alina’s memory or served its original purpose.
Assessment of Anita Kulik’s Role
Anita Kulik, who has represented Pennsylvania’s 45th district since her election in 2016, has spoken frequently about her commitment to protecting domestic violence victims. Yet, despite these claims, Alina’s Law—a bill initially designed to provide life-saving protections for high-risk victims through electronic monitoring—has faced continuous delays, amendments, and significant setbacks under her watch. Kulik is currently up for re-election on November 5th, 2024, and her actions regarding Alina’s Law raise serious concerns.
For six years of her tenure, advocates, including Alina’s family and Alina’s Light, have worked tirelessly to collaborate with Kulik, urging her to amend Alina’s Law to include essential protections for victims. But rather than listening to or incorporating this feedback, Kulik repeatedly ignored these advocates, leaving the bill to stall in committee year after year. When Alina’s Law finally advanced in the 2023-2024 session as HB 1150, it was done so suddenly, with no notice to advocates, and was amended so drastically that it no longer included the core protections for electronic monitoring. Instead, the bill was transformed into a grant program for district attorneys—one which doesn’t require the funds to be used specifically for domestic violence cases. The House Judiciary Committee chair’s memo openly stated that the bill had been “gutted,” leaving district attorneys broad discretion over funds without ensuring protections for those at risk.
Meanwhile, Kulik has campaigned on the backs of domestic violence victims for the past six years, publicly promising to make a difference while privately, she has allegedly remarked that the bill “is going nowhere,” despite claiming this “compromise” was necessary to move it forward. Her abandonment of Alina’s Law is a betrayal to victims and their advocates, who sought nothing more than to protect the vulnerable in our communities.
The Sheykhet family has voiced their disappointment, expressing that the bill in its current form no longer honors Alina’s name or legacy. They were blindsided by the last-minute amendments and deeply disheartened that Alina’s Law now fails to deliver the protections it once promised.
The result is a hollow bill that bears little resemblance to its original intent, failing to meet the needs of domestic violence victims. Anita Kulik’s role in this process casts serious doubt on her dedication to the community’s well-being and her ability to follow through on promises to protect the most vulnerable. While her intentions may have been positive, the outcome reflects a profound failure in leadership, accountability, and compassion—turning her commitment to public safety into little more than empty words.
