Legislature(2009 - 2010)HOUSE FINANCE 519
03/19/2010 01:30 PM House FINANCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR48 | |
| HB298 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 298 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HJR 48 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 48
Urging the United States Congress to pass the Crime
Victims Fund Preservation Act.
1:37:56 PM
HANNA MCCARTY, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE BETH KERTULLA,
SPONSOR, explained that for more than twenty years, the
Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) fund has provided grants to
state victim assistance programs to fund services to more
than four million victims of all types of crimes. She
relayed that no one chooses to be a victim of crime, but
when a crime does occur, victims deserve to be treated with
dignity and respect. For victims, fairness includes
restoring health, safety, and well-being. Without the VOCA
funding and the direct services it supports, crime victims
go without advocacy, medical and mental health, and legal
services.
Ms. McCarty asked for support in efforts to raise the cap
on the fund in order to ensure that VOCA assistance grants
continue to support vital services.
SAMANTHA ENGLISHOE, FIRST ALASKANS INSTITUTE FELLOW, OFFICE
OF REPRESENTATIVE BETH KERTULLA, SPONSOR, informed the
committee that the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 created the
VOCA fund as a protected and dedicated source of funding
for crime victims' programs. The fund is not financed by
taxpayer revenue but by a collection of fines, forfeitures,
and other penalties paid by federal criminal offenders.
Each year VOCA dollars are distributed to states to support
two important types of programs: crime victim compensation
programs, which reimburse victims for crime-related
expenses; and victim assistant programs, which provide
victims with direct support and guidance in the aftermath
of crime. The fund is comprised of offender penalties and
fines, and the amount of deposits into the fund fluctuates
from year to year. In 2000, Congress started capping annual
obligations from the fund, saving the amount collected over
the cap to ensure the fund's stability.
Ms. Englishoe continued that the VOCA fund has a current
accumulated balance of nearly $3 billion. Under the VOCA
statutory formula for the annual distribution of funds,
state assistant grants are dependant on the size of the cap
and the amount available for those grants is whatever
remains after other programs have been funded. Unless the
cap is high enough, state VOCA assistance grants are cut as
other VOCA-dependent costs increase and new under-the-cap
programs and earmarks are added. Despite unprecedented
deposits into the fund, inadequate caps led to severe
cutbacks in VOCA's victim assistance grants from 2006 to
2008, causing a devastating impact on programs providing
direct services to crime victims. However, at the same time
as the state victim assistant grants were cut by $87
million (22 percent), the fund grew more than $700 million.
The balance would have been available for direct services
if the cap minimum had been higher.
1:42:14 PM
Ms. Englishoe maintained that under the Crime Victims Fund
Preservation Act, the VOCA statute would establish minimum
funding levels for fiscal years 2010 through 2014, steadily
drawing down a portion of the accumulated balance. The
Office of Management and Budget has projected that the fund
will have a balance of at least $1.3 billion at the end of
2014 even with the minimum caps. The fund would be
sustainable and would not need other revenue sources.
Ms. Englishoe cited strong state support for the Crime
Victims Fund Preservation Act, including by the Department
of Health and Social Services, the Department of Public
Safety, Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan, and U.S.
Congressman Don Young. In addition, representatives from
the state Violent Crimes Compensation Board and the Council
on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault were supportive.
Representative Gara voiced support for the measure.
Co-Chair Stoltze noted the absence of testimony from
Victims for Justice.
GERAD GODFREY, CHAIR, VIOLENT CRIMES COMPENSATION BOARD
(via teleconference), spoke in support of the legislation.
He referred to a letter of support for the resolution from
the board (copy on file). He underlined the value of
providing assistance in the recovery and rehabilitation
process to innocent victims of violent crime. He noted the
cost benefit to society, as counseling and intervention
often serves as prevention in the next generation.
Assistance often empowers victims to remain or become
productive members of society.
1:47:07 PM
Co-Chair Stoltze acknowledged the work of the board. He
referred to the zero fiscal impact note.
Co-Chair Hawker MOVED to report HJR 48 out of Committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
note. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered.
HJR 48 was REPORTED out of Committee with a "do pass"
recommendation and with attached new fiscal note by the
Legislative Affairs Agency.