CHAPTER 68

HB 1235-FN - FINAL VERSION

16Feb2022... 0396h

31Mar2022... 1170h

2022 SESSION

22-2497

04/10

HOUSE BILL 1235-FN

AN ACT relative to compensation paid to a crime victim.

SPONSORS: Rep. Cushing, Rock. 21; Rep. Meuse, Rock. 29; Rep. Walz, Merr. 23

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill increases the maximum recovery per claimant under the victims' assistance fund.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

16Feb2022... 0396h

31Mar2022... 1170h 22-2497

04/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two

AN ACT relative to compensation paid to a crime victim.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

68:1  Crime Victims Assistance; Claimant Eligibility.  Amend RSA 21-M:8-h, V to read as follows:

V.  The claimant may be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, medical expenses, funeral expenses, counseling expenses, rehabilitative expenses, expenses associated with the victim's participation in post-conviction proceedings and victim-offender dialogue programs or other restorative justice programs, and lost wages directly resulting from the crime.  Claimants eligible under subparagraph I(a)(4) may be reimbursed for the costs of removing the tattoo with an identifying mark.  No reimbursement shall be paid unless the claimant has incurred reimbursable expenses of at least $100.  There shall be a [$40,000] $50,000 maximum recovery per claimant per incident.  If expenses paid through the victims' assistance program fund are later covered by insurance settlements, civil suit settlements, or restitution, or through any other source, the claimant shall reimburse the fund for the amount of expenses recovered.   

68:2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

Approved: May 20, 2022

Effective Date: July 19, 2022