HF 2468 (LSB 6290HH (3) 88)

HOUSE FILE 2468

BY  ANDERSON

A BILL FOR

An Act creating a victim restitution fund.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 602.8108, subsection 3, Code 2020, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  The clerk of the district court shall remit to the state court administrator, not later than the fifteenth day of each month, ninety-five percent of all moneys collected from the criminal penalty surcharge provided in section 911.1 during the preceding calendar month. The clerk shall remit the remainder to the county treasurer of the county that was the plaintiff in the action or to the city that was the plaintiff in the action. Of the amount received from the clerk, the state court administrator shall allocate seventeen percent to be deposited in the victim compensation fund established in section 915.94, forty-one and one-half percent to be deposited in the victim restitution fund established in section 915.96, and eighty-three forty-one and one-half percent to be deposited in the general fund.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  915.96  Victim restitution fund.
   A victim restitution fund is established as a separate fund in the state treasury. Money deposited in the fund shall be administered by the crime victim assistance division of the department of justice and used for the purposes of providing victims with restitution as defined in section 910.1. The fund shall consist of moneys deposited into the fund pursuant to section 602.8108, subsection 3, appropriations made to the fund, and repayments of restitution obligations owed by a defendant to a victim. The fund may provide up to five thousand dollars of restitution ordered by the court to a crime victim to compensate the victim for monetary losses due to an offender’s criminal act, including expenses not covered by the victim compensation fund established pursuant to section 915.94 and when an offender cannot pay the full amount of restitution owed to a victim in a timely manner. Notwithstanding section 8.33, any balance in the fund on June 30 of any fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund of the state.
    Sec. 3.  VICTIM RESTITUTION FUND —— APPROPRIATION.  There is appropriated from the general fund of the state to the department of justice for transfer to the victim restitution fund established in section 915.96 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020, and ending June 30, 2021, the following amount, or so much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purposes of the fund:
   ...................................................................... $  1,000,000
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill creates a victim restitution fund to provide restitution to a crime victim to compensate the victim for monetary losses due to an offender’s criminal act, including expenses not covered by the victim compensation fund and when an offender cannot pay the full amount of restitution owed to a victim in a timely manner. The fund may provide a victim with up to $5,000 in restitution.
   The fund shall be comprised of moneys deposited into the fund from the criminal penalty surcharge, appropriations made to the fund, and repayments of restitution obligations owed by a defendant to a victim. The bill makes a one-time appropriation from the general fund of the state to the department of justice for transfer to the fund for FY 2020-2021.