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. (SD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2426
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                S.D. 1
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 High School shooting, and the Xerox shooting horrified
 
 5 the nation and left surviving family members, witnesses, other
 
 6 individuals present at the crime scene, and the community
 
 7 emotionally traumatized.  In response to these tragedies, the
 
 8 federal Office for Victims of Crime has developed the Reserve
 
 9 Fund.  The program makes federal funding available to state crime
 
10 victim compensation programs to pay for mental health counseling
 
11 for victims of mass violence.
 
12      Hawaii was unable to accept federal Office for Victims of
 
13 Crime Reserve Fund funds after the recent Xerox incident because
 
14 there is no statutory authorization of 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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 1 that, in order to qualify for federal Office for Victims of Crime
 
 2 Reserve Fund funding, it is necessary to amend chapter 351,
 
 3 Hawaii Revised Statutes, to allow 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 victims killed during a continuous course of criminal conduct;"
 
10      SECTION 3.  Section 351-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
11 amended by amending the definition of "relative" to read as
 
12 follows:
 
13      ""Relative" means a victim's spouse or reciprocal
 
14 beneficiary, parent, grandparent, stepparent, child, grandchild,
 
15 stepchild, brother, sister, half brother, half sister,
 
16 stepbrother, stepsister, [or] spouse's or reciprocal
 
17 beneficiary's parents[;], niece, nephew, or person residing in
 
18 the same dwelling unit as the victim;"
 
19      SECTION 4.  Section 351-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
20 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
21      "(a)  In the event any private citizen is injured or killed
 
22 by any act or omission of any other person coming within the
 
23 criminal jurisdiction of the State after June 6, 1967, or any
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           2426
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 1 state resident is injured or killed by any act or omission of any
 
 2 other person after July 1, 1989, in another state, which act or
 
 3 omission is within the description of the crimes enumerated in
 
 4 section 351-32, or any resident of this State who is injured or
 
 5 killed by an act of terrorism occurring outside the United
 
 6 States, as defined in Title 18 United States Code section 2331,
 
 7 the commission in its discretion, upon an application, may order
 
 8 the payment of compensation in accordance with this chapter:
 
 9      (1)  To or for the benefit of the victim;
 
10      (2)  To any person responsible for the maintenance of the
 
11           victim, [where] if that person has suffered pecuniary
 
12           loss or incurred expenses as a result of the victim's
 
13           injury or death;
 
14      (3)  In the case of the death of the victim, to or for the
 
15           benefit of any one or more of the dependents of the
 
16           deceased victim; [or]
 
17      (4)  To any person who has incurred expenses on account of
 
18           hospital, medical, funeral, and burial expenses as a
 
19           result of the deceased victim's injury and death[.]; or
 
20      (5)  In cases involving a mass casualty incident, for mental
 
21           health services to or for the benefit of:
 
22           (A)  A relative of the deceased victim;
 
23           (B)  A witness to the mass casualty; or
 

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

 
 
 
 
 
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 1      (5)  Any other pecuniary loss directly resulting from the
 
 2           injury or death of the victim [which] that the
 
 3           commission determines to be reasonable and proper[.];
 
 4           and
 
 5      (6)  Expenses actually and reasonably incurred for mental
 
 6           health services in the case of a mass casualty
 
 7           incident."
 
 8      SECTION 6.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 9 New statutory material is underscored.
 
10      SECTION 7.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.