REPORT TITLE:
Crime Victim Comp.


DESCRIPTION:
Authorizes payment of compensation for mental health counseling,
in the case of mass casualty, for deceased victim's relative,
witness, or individual engaged in business or educational
activities at scene.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2426
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO CRIME VICTIM COMPENSATION.
 


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  During the past decade communities across the
 
 2 nation have experienced the horrifying impact of crimes of mass
 
 3 violence.  The World Trade Center bombing, Olympic park shooting,
 
 4 Columbine, and the Xerox shooting horrified the nation and left
 
 5 surviving family members, witnesses, individuals present at the
 
 6 crime scene and the community emotionally traumatized.  In
 
 7 response to these tragedies, the Federal Office for Victims of
 
 8 Crime has developed the Community Crisis Response Program.  The
 
 9 program makes federal funding available to state crime victim
 
10 compensation programs to pay for mental health counseling for
 
11 victims of mass violence.
 
12      Hawaii was unable to accept federal Community Crisis
 
13 Response Program funds after the recent Xerox incident because
 
14 there is no statutory authority allowing compensation for mental
 
15 health counseling for surviving family members, witnesses, or
 
16 individuals who were present at the scene of an incident of mass
 
17 violence.
 
18      The legislature finds that survivors of mass violence need
 
19 access to mental health services.  The legislature further finds
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           2426
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 that, in order to qualify for federal Community Crisis Response
 
 2 Program funding, it is necessary to amend chapter 351, Hawaii
 
 3 Revised Statutes, to provide compensation for mental health
 
 4 counseling to survivors of mass violence.
 
 5      SECTION 2.  Section 351-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted
 
 7 and to read as follows:
 
 8      ""Mass-casualty incident" means an incident with multiple
 
 9 deceased victims, killed during a continuous course of criminal
 
10 conduct;"
 
11      SECTION 3.  Section 351-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
12 amended by amending the definition of "relative" to read as
 
13 follows:
 
14      ""Relative" means a victim's spouse or reciprocal
 
15 beneficiary, parent, grandparent, stepparent, child, grandchild,
 
16 stepchild, brother, sister, half brother, half sister,
 
17 stepbrother, stepsister, [or] spouse's or reciprocal
 
18 beneficiary's parents[;], niece, nephew, or person jointly
 
19 residing in the same dwelling unit as the victim;"
 
20      SECTION 4.  Section 351-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
21 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
22      "(a)  In the event any private citizen is injured or killed
 
23 by any act or omission of any other person coming within the
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           2426
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 criminal jurisdiction of the State after June 6, 1967, or any
 
 2 state resident is injured or killed by any act or omission of any
 
 3 other person after July 1, 1989, in another state, which act or
 
 4 omission is within the description of the crimes enumerated in
 
 5 section 351-32, or any resident of this State who is injured or
 
 6 killed by an act of terrorism occurring outside the United
 
 7 States, as defined in Title 18 United States Code section 2331,
 
 8 the commission in its discretion, upon an application, may order
 
 9 the payment of compensation in accordance with this chapter:
 
10      (1)  To or for the benefit of the victim;
 
11      (2)  To any person responsible for the maintenance of the
 
12           victim, [where] if that person has suffered pecuniary
 
13           loss or incurred expenses as a result of the victim's
 
14           injury or death;
 
15      (3)  In the case of the death of the victim, to or for the
 
16           benefit of any one or more of the dependents of the
 
17           deceased victim; [or]
 
18      (4)  To any person who has incurred expenses on account of
 
19           hospital, medical, funeral, and burial expenses as a
 
20           result of the deceased victim's injury and death[.]; or
 
21      (5)  In cases involving a mass casualty incident, for mental
 
22           health counseling to or for the benefit of:
 
23           (A)  A relative of the deceased victim;
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           2426
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           (B)  A witness to the mass casualty; or
 
 2           (C)  An individual engaged in business or educational
 
 3                activities at the scene of the mass casualty
 
 4                incident;
 
 5           provided that this paragraph shall not apply to a
 
 6           member of a public or private agency responding to or
 
 7           providing services as a result of a mass casualty
 
 8           incident."
 
 9      SECTION 5.  Section 351-33, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended to read as follows:
 
11      "§351-33  Award of compensation.  The commission may order
 
12 the payment of compensation under this part for:
 
13      (1)  Expenses actually and reasonably incurred during the
 
14           period of the injury or death of the victim;
 
15      (2)  Loss to the victim of earning power as a result of
 
16           total or partial incapacity;
 
17      (3)  Pecuniary loss to the dependents of the deceased
 
18           victim;
 
19      (4)  Pain and suffering to the victim; [and]
 
20      (5)  Any other pecuniary loss directly resulting from the
 
21           injury or death of the victim [which] that the
 
22           commission determines to be reasonable and proper[.];
 
23           and
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           2426
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (6)  Expenses actually and reasonably incurred for mental
 
 2           health services in the case of a mass casualty incident
 
 3           by:
 
 4           (A)  A relative of the deceased victim;
 
 5           (B)  A witness to the mass casualty; or
 
 6           (C)  An individual engaged in business or educational
 
 7                activities at the scene of the mass casualty
 
 8                incident;
 
 9           provided that this paragraph shall not apply to a
 
10           member of a public or private agency responding to or
 
11           providing services as a result of a mass casualty
 
12           incident."
 
13      SECTION 6.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
14 New statutory material is underscored.
 
15      SECTION 7.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
16 
 
17                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________