Johnson/Steele/Diegnan/Albano Bill Overhauling Victims Of Crime Compensation Board Advances

JOHNSON/STEELE/DIEGNAN/ALBANO BILL OVERHAULING VICTIMS OF CRIME COMPENSATION BOARD ADVANCES

Measure Would Expedite Services for Crime Victims, Save Taxpayer Dollars

(TRENTON) - Legislation Assemblymen Gordon M. Johnson, Alfred E. Steele, Patrick Diegnan, and Nelson Albano sponsored to abolish the Victims of Crime Compensation Board (VCCB) and replace it with a streamlined executive agency passed today in the General Assembly.

The measure was announced at a March 2006 news conference, following the resignation and subsequent conviction of then-board member Matthew V. Scannapieco on unrelated charges involving tax evasion and accepting bribes.  The revamped agency would help expedite service for New Jersey victims of crime and could save the state at least half a million dollars in annual revenue by discontinuing the $107,000 annual currently given to board members.

"There is no reason taxpayers should continue to shoulder the burden of a patronage-oriented body when more dedicated, deserving, and responsive victims advocates are willing to serve for free," said Johnson (D-Bergen).  "Overhauling the board will benefit victims of crime and taxpayers."

Currently New Jersey and New York are the only states that fully compensate members of their victims' compensation boards.  In approximately 20 other states where similar boards have been established, members serve on a volunteer basis.

The Johnson/Steele/Diegnan/Albano measure (A-2322) would abolish the current VCCB, replacing it with an executive Victims of Crime Compensation Agency (VCCA) in the state Department of Treasury.  The new VCCA would be headed by an executive director appointed by the governor, with advice and consent of the Senate.  The executive director would establish, develop, and supervise all practices and procedures of the new agency and would be the final authority on all matters concerning victim compensation.

The bill also would create a Victims of Crime Compensation Hearing Board (VCCHB) that would be charged with hearing appeals of decisions of the VCCA regarding victim compensation.  The VCCHB also would act as an advisory board as necessary.  It would be composed of five members, appointed by the governor, with advice and consent of the Senate.

Members of both boards would serve without compensation.

"The current Victims of Crime Compensation Board is nothing more than a glorified patronage mill," said Steele (D-Passaic).  "The board too often has come under fire for being more concerned about protecting its members' bloated salaries than the rights of the crime victims it was created to protect."

The measure would make the following additional changes to the operation of the state's victim compensation activities:

Relocate the VCCA and VCCHB offices to Newark;
Increase the rate of attorney compensation to at least $125 an hour, provided the attorney completes a board-certified training program;
Increase the maximum amount of individual emergency awards from $1,500 to $5,000;

Provide that any VCCA compensation would be considered a lien against settlements, judgments, or awards, which would have priority over all other levies and garnishments against a settlement, unless specifically provided by the Superior Court;

Change the victim counseling service to a victim mental health counseling service, overseen by a director with at least five years experience in mental health counseling for crime victims;

Provide the executive director of the VCCA would appoint the director of the Office of Victim-Witness Assistance, who would have at least five years experience in crime victim services and advocacy;

Expand the functions of the victim-witness rights information program to provide assistance programs to victims free of charge;

Give the VCCA the legal standing to appear in criminal and civil courts of New Jersey to assert the rights of crime victims; and
Repealing the provision requiring an impartial medical expert review injured or deceased persons medical reports after they are submitted to the agency.

"Victims should not be left hanging out to dry by the very agency put in place to protect their rights during a personal crisis," said Diegnan (D-Middlesex).  "Revamping the compensation board will bring it back to its founding purpose - helping to compensate victims of crime for their pain and suffering."

"The compensation board was supposed to be a haven for victims of crime with nowhere else to turn," said Albano (D-Cumberland).  "Crime victims have a right to expect the board will help them recover from their ordeal, not victimize them further."

The Assembly passed the measure in a vote of 76 to 3.  The Senate passed the measure in a vote of 37 to 0.  The bill now heads to the Governor, who may sign it, veto it, or modify it in the form of a conditional veto.

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