STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2316

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2131

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2131 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE CRIME VICTIM COMPENSATION SPECIAL FUND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to address current funding shortfalls experienced by the Crime Victim Compensation Commission by exempting the Crime Victim Compensation Special Fund from certain assessments made by the Director of Finance to administer special funds.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Crime Victim Compensation Commission, Department of Public Safety, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui, Kauai Victim/Witness Program, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Your Committee finds that the Crime Victim Compensation Commission is struggling financially due to failure of judges to order the Crime Victim Compensation Fee in eligible cases and court closures resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The Crime Victim Compensation Fee was created by the Legislature in 1998 to act as the primary funding source of the Crime Victim Compensation Commission. Collection shortfalls of the Crime Victim Compensation Fee over many years have effectively deprived the Crime Victim Compensation Commission of the funding reserve it needed to survive the COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic-related court closures. Despite receiving emergency funding from the Legislature last year, revenue from the Crime Victim Compensation Fee continues to decline, falling during the first half of fiscal year 2022 and is eight percent lower than revenue from the same period from fiscal year 2021. This measure will address current funding shortfalls experienced by the Crime Victim Compensation Commission by exempting the Crime Victim Compensation Special Fund from certain assessments made by the Director of Finance to administer special funds.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Exempting the Crime Victim Compensation Special Fund from certain assessments made by the Director of Finance to administer special funds for three fiscal years;

(2) Inserting an effective date of July 30, 2075, to encourage further discussion; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2131, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2131, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair