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Introduced Version House Bill 4634 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 4634


(By Delegates Perdue, Webster, Poling M., Boggs, Hatfield, Mahan, Campbell and Brown)

[Introduced February 16, 2008; referred to the

Committee on Finance.]




A BILL to AMEND AND REENACT §14-2a-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §15-9-5, all relating to the redirecting of a percentage of the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund to the funding of Child Advocacy Centers and the Child Advocacy Network; and to create a special revenue fund in the Division of Criminal Justice Services and to establish the uses of the funds.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §14-2a-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §15-9-5, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 14; CLAIMS DUE AGAINST THE STATE.

14-2A-4. Creation of crime victims compensation fund.

(a) Every person within the state who is convicted of or
pleads guilty to a misdemeanor offense, other than a traffic offense that is not a moving violation, in any magistrate court or circuit court, shall pay the sum of ten dollars as costs in the case, in addition to any other court costs that the court is required by law to impose upon the convicted person. Every person within the state who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a misdemeanor offense, other than a traffic offense that is not a moving violation, in any municipal court, shall pay the sum of eight dollars as costs in the case, in addition to any other court costs that the court is required by law to impose upon the convicted person. In addition to any other costs previously specified, every person within the state who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of this code, shall pay a fee in the amount of twenty percent of any fine imposed under that section. This is in addition to any other court costs required by this section or which may be required by law.
(b) The clerk of the circuit court, magistrate court or municipal court where the additional costs are imposed under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall, on or before the last day of each month, transmit all costs received under this article to the state treasurer for deposit in the state treasury to the credit of a special revenue fund to be known as the "Crime Victims Compensation Fund". All moneys collected and received under this article and paid into the state treasury and credited to
the crime victims compensation fund in the manner prescribed in section two, article two, chapter twelve of this code, shall be kept and maintained for the specific purposes of this article, and may not be treated by the auditor and treasurer as part of the general revenue of the state.
(c) Expenditure of moneys in the crime victims compensation fund is authorized from collections.

(d) Moneys in the crime victims compensation fund may be expended for:

(1) The payment of the costs of administration of this article;

(2) The payment of economic loss awards approved by the court; and

(3) The payment of attorney and witness fees, allowed pursuant to section nineteen of this article.; and

(4) Twenty-five percent of the money collected in the crime victim's compensation fund shall be directed to the Child Advocacy Center Fund established in section five, article nine, chapter fifteen of this code.

(e) The services of the office of the attorney general, as may be required or authorized by any of the provisions of this article, shall be rendered without charge to the fund.

(f) Any moneys in the crime victims compensation fund may be invested as provided in article six, chapter twelve of this code, with the interest income credited to the crime victims compensation
fund.
(g) All funds in the special economic loss claim payment fund created under the provisions of section twenty of this article prior to the amendments made in that section enacted in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine shall be transferred to the crime victims compensation fund within a reasonable time from the effective date of the amendments.

(h) All gifts that are received to be used for the purposes of this article shall be deposited into the crime victims compensation fund.

CHAPTER 15: PUBLIC SAFETY.

Article 9. GOVERNOR'S COMMITTEE ON CRIME, DELINQUENCY AND CORRECTION.

§15-9-5. Creation of Fund for Child Advocacy Centers.

(a) All moneys transferred from the crime victims compensation fund pursuant to section four, article two-a, chapter fourteen, shall be deposited in a special account in the State Treasury to be known as the "Child Advocacy Center Fund." Expenditures from the fund shall be for the purposes set forth in subsections (b) of this section and are not authorized from collections but only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature and in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twelve of this code and upon fulfillment of the provisions of article two, chapter eleven-b of this code: Provided, That for the fiscal year ending
the thirtieth day of June, two thousand nine, funds shall be transferred from the crime victim's compensation fund available from the year ending the thirtieth day of June, two thousand eight and in the same manner for each future year.
(b) Proceeds of the Child Advocacy Center Fund shall be distributed through the Division of Criminal Justice Services in cooperation with the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network for the following purposes:

(1) To provide funding for the accredited Child Advocacy Centers as established in section one, chapter forty nine of this code;

(2) To provide funding for developing Child Advocacy Centers;

(3) To provide funds to promote and mentor Child Advocacy Centers and multi-disciplinary teams defined in section four, article one, chapter forty-nine in this code through the West Virginia Child Abuse Network operating as the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network;

(4) To provide funding for the development of medical response systems in under-served areas of the state;

(5) To fund special projects determined to promote child advocacy services in the state; and

(6) To fund Administrative costs of the Division of Criminal Justice Services limited to no greater than five percent of the total money transferred.

Note: The purpose of the bill is to create a funding mechanism for Child Advocacy Centers from the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund. The bill also creates a fund to be disbursed by the Division of Criminal Justice Services in cooperation with the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network.

Strike-thought indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.







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