A bill for an act relating to the disposition of collected criminal case fines and establishing a victim restitution fund.

House

File

2109

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

2109

BY

THOMPSON

,

DIEKEN

,

VONDRAN

,

GOSA

,

GEHLBACH

,

BARKER

,

JENEARY

,

BEHN

,

GOLDING

,

KNIFF

McCULLA

,

FETT

,

BRADLEY

,

GERHOLD

,

JONES

,

SIEGRIST

,

COLLINS

,

and

LARSON

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

the

disposition

of

collected

criminal

case

1

fines

and

establishing

a

victim

restitution

fund.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

TLSB

5951YH

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91

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H.F.

2109

Section

1.

Section

602.8106,

subsection

4,

paragraph

b,

1

Code

2026,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

2

b.

The

fine

amount

for

a

violation

that

occurred

within

the

3

boundaries

of

the

county

shall

be

distributed

as

follows:

4

(1)

Ninety-one

Eighty-five

percent

to

the

state

court

5

administrator.

6

(2)

Nine

Eight

percent

to

the

county

treasurer

for

deposit

7

in

the

county

general

fund

where

the

violation

occurred.

8

(3)

Seven

percent

to

the

victim

restitution

fund

9

established

in

section

915.96.

10

Sec.

2.

NEW

SECTION

.

915.96

Victim

restitution

fund.

11

A

victim

restitution

fund

is

established

as

a

separate

fund

12

in

the

state

treasury.

Moneys

deposited

in

the

fund

shall

be

13

administered

by

the

department

and

dedicated

to

and

used

for

14

the

purposes

of

pecuniary

damages

pursuant

to

section

910.2,

15

and

for

restitution

for

the

death

of

a

victim

under

section

16

910.3B.

The

fund

shall

consist

of

moneys

deposited

into

the

17

fund

pursuant

to

section

602.8106,

subsection

4,

paragraph

18

“b”

,

subparagraph

(3),

and

appropriations

made

to

the

fund.

19

Notwithstanding

section

8.33,

moneys

in

the

fund

that

remain

20

unencumbered

or

unobligated

at

the

close

of

a

fiscal

year

shall

21

not

revert

but

shall

remain

available

for

expenditure

for

the

22

purposes

designated.

23

EXPLANATION

24

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

25

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

26

This

bill

relates

to

the

disposition

of

collected

criminal

27

case

fines.

28

Current

law

provides

that

the

clerk

of

the

district

court

29

shall

distribute

the

fine

amount

for

a

criminal

violation

that

30

occurred

within

the

boundaries

of

a

county

as

follows:

91

31

percent

to

the

state

court

administrator

and

9

percent

to

the

32

county

treasurer

for

deposit

in

the

county

general

fund

where

33

the

violation

occurred.

34

The

bill

provides

that

the

fine

amount

for

a

criminal

35

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2

H.F.

2109

violation

that

occurred

within

the

boundaries

of

a

county

shall

1

be

distributed

as

follows:

85

percent

to

the

state

court

2

administrator,

8

percent

to

the

county

treasurer

for

deposit

3

in

the

county

general

fund

where

the

violation

occurred,

and

7

4

percent

to

the

victim

restitution

fund

established

in

the

bill.

5

The

bill

provides

that

a

victim

restitution

fund

is

6

established

as

a

separate

fund

in

the

state

treasury.

Moneys

7

deposited

in

the

fund

will

be

administered

by

the

department

of

8

justice

and

used

for

the

purposes

of

pecuniary

damages

pursuant

9

to

Code

section

910.2,

and

for

restitution

for

the

death

of

a

10

victim

pursuant

to

Code

section

910.3B.

“Pecuniary

damages”

11

means

all

damages

to

the

extent

not

paid

by

an

insurer

on

12

an

insurance

claim

by

a

victim,

which

a

victim

could

recover

13

against

the

offender

in

a

civil

action

arising

out

of

the

14

same

facts

or

event,

except

punitive

damages

and

damages

for

15

pain,

suffering,

mental

anguish,

and

loss

of

consortium,

and

16

includes

damages

for

wrongful

death

and

expenses

incurred

for

17

psychiatric

or

psychological

services

or

counseling

or

other

18

counseling

for

the

victim,

which

became

necessary

as

a

direct

19

result

of

the

criminal

activity.

Code

section

910.3B

provides

20

for

the

payment

of

at

least

$150,000

to

a

victim’s

estate

or

a

21

victim’s

heirs

in

addition

to

pecuniary

damages.

22

The

bill

provides

that

notwithstanding

Code

section

8.33,

23

moneys

in

the

fund

that

remain

unencumbered

or

unobligated

at

24

the

close

of

a

fiscal

year

shall

not

revert

but

shall

remain

25

available

for

expenditure

for

the

purposes

designated.

26

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