HOUSE BILL NO. 216 "An Act relating to transfers from the dividend fund; creating the restorative justice account; relating to appropriations from the restorative justice account for payments for and services to crime victims, operating costs of the Violent Crimes Compensation Board, operation of domestic violence and sexual assault programs, mental health services and substance abuse treatment for offenders, and incarceration costs; and providing for an effective date." 3:46:49 PM Co-Chair Seaton relayed that the bill sponsor was not feeling well. The committee would only be hearing the changes to the bill as shown in the committee substitute. ERIC CORDERO-GIORGANA, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE CHUCK KOPP, reviewed the changes in the committee substitute. In Section 6, the minimum range was lowered to total less than 100 percent of the full amount. The change was made to provide more discretionary opportunity for the legislature to appropriate funds. He directed attention to table that showed changes in percentage ranges. He expanded that there had been an ongoing conversation with the Office of Management and Budget, the Legislative Finance Division, and several other stakeholders to formulate a range that all the entities were comfortable with. Co-Chair Seaton asked for a presentation of the bill. Mr. Cordero-Giorgana reminded that HB 216 established the Restorative Justice Account. He continued that the second change would change the effective date from July 2018 to January 2019. Co-Chair Seaton asked for more detail. Mr. Cordero-Girogana relayed that 30 years ago the legislature had established an account from Permanent Fund Dividends that no longer belonged to offenders. The fund was designed to help victims, but over time the funds had been used for other things. The original recipient of the funds was the Violent Crimes Compensation Board. Most of the funds currently went to the Department of Corrections to pay for inmate healthcare. The intent of the bill was to set a priority list to put victims first. Mr. Cordero-Girogana continued that the entities that could potentially receive the funds was not changing. The change was a list of percentages and priorities, along with discretion for the legislature to appropriate those funds if they were available. Some of the entities were no longer being funded due to the volatility of the Permanent Fund. He discussed the gap in compensation and restitution. He spoke of the huge backlog in court-ordered restitution. The majority of victims were owed less than $1000. The bill added the opportunity for the legislature to put some of the money toward restitution through the Office of Victim's Rights. Co-Chair Seaton would have the bill presented by the sponsor at a later time. 3:51:51 PM Representative Wilson wanted to understand Section 6 on page 5 and 6. She wondered if the percentages were added. Mr. Cordero-Giorgana responded in the affirmative and noted that there had been changes to the ranges since the last committee presentation. Representative Wilson MOVED to ADOPT proposed committee substitute for HB 216, Work Draft (30-LS0572\L). There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered. Co-Chair Seaton wanted to ensure the public was familiar with the version of the bill being considered. Representative Kawasaki asked for information on a memorandum that discussed dedicated funds. He thought the percentages were added to address the matter, but he did not see the explanation. Mr. Cordero-Giorgana would make sure to bring the information back to the committee. Representative Wilson asked about the percentages. She thought the percentages offset the reason for the list of priorities in the bill. Mr. Cordero-Giorgana referred to a memo from Legislative Legal Services (copy on file). It indicated that the legislature had the discretion to appropriate any amount regardless of the percentage or priority as proposed in the bill. He thought the language acted as a guideline. Co-Chair Seaton noted that the percentages reflected historic use of the fund. HB 216 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. Co-Chair Seaton reviewed the agenda for the following day.