Revision: March 3, 2009, midnight
HB 601-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
04/05
HOUSE BILL 601-FN
AN ACT relative to claims for compensation from the victims’ assistance fund.
SPONSORS: Rep. Cushing, Rock 15; Rep. S. Harvey, Hills 21
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill raises the limit of recovery from the victim’s assistance fund to $100,000, removes the time limit on filing claims for compensation, and allows victims to be compensated for expenses associated with participation in post-conviction proceedings, and victim-dialogue programs or other restorative justice programs.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0329
04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to claims for compensation from the victims’ assistance fund.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Claimant Eligibility; Compensation. Amend RSA 21-M:8-h, I-II to read as follows:
I.(a) Victims eligible for compensation are:
(1) Any person who sustains personal injury as a result of a felony or misdemeanor;
(2) Any person who sustains personal injury caused by a person driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances;
(3) Any person who is a victim of sexual abuse and is under the age of 18 at the time the claim is filed.
(b) In the case of a child victim, the claimant, guardian ad litem, advocate or parent may claim compensation in the victim’s stead. If the victim is incompetent or in the case of a victim’s death as a direct result of the crime, the immediate family of the victim is eligible to claim compensation. In this section, immediate family of the victim shall include the surviving partner in a civil union. In the case of a victim’s disability as a direct result of the crime, the victim’s legal representative may claim compensation in the victim’s stead.
(c) A family member of a law enforcement officer, an inmate at a state or county correctional facility, and an individual who is not a citizen of the United States or who is not a legal alien shall be considered victims eligible for compensation under this section.
II. The claimant, guardian ad litem or child advocate, or parent [shall] may file a claim for compensation [within one year of the crime, unless good cause is shown] at any time after the crime.
2 Claimant Eligibility; Compensation. Amend RSA 21-M:8-h, V to read as follows:
V. The claimant may be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, medical expenses, funeral expenses, counseling expenses, expenses associated with the victim’s participation in post-conviction proceedings and victim-offender dialogue programs or other restorative justice programs, and lost wages directly resulting from the crime. No reimbursement shall be paid unless the claimant has incurred reimbursable expenses of at least $100. There shall be a [$10,000 ceiling on] $100,000 maximum recovery per claimant per incident. If expenses paid through the victims’ assistance program fund are later covered by insurance settlements, civil suit settlements, or restitution, or through any other source, the claimant shall reimburse the fund for the amount of expenses recovered.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
09-0329
Revised 03/02/09
HB 601 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to claims for compensation from the victims’ assistance fund.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Justice states this bill would have an indeterminable increase on state restricted expenditures in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. This bill would have no fiscal impact on state, county and local revenue or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Justice states this bill would change the claimant eligibility for victims’ assistance compensation from “within one year of the crime, unless good cause is shown” to “any time after the crime” and increases the compensation cap from $10,000 to $100,000. The Department currently receives over 500 applications a year and cannot estimate how many of these claims would exceed the current $10,000. The Department states expanding the time frame for filing claims will result in information from the application process being stale which will require additional staff time to process. This program is funded by approximately 40% state restricted expenditures from the Penalty Assessment Fund and approximately 60% federally. The fiscal increase on state restricted expenditures cannot be determined at this time.