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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Beam

DATE TYPED 2/4/05

HB 577/aHJC

SHORT TITLE Murder Victim’s Children College Tuition

SB

ANALYST Williams/Peery

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

$2,500.0

Recurring General Fund *

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to various student financial aid bills

REVENUE

Estimated Revenue

Subsequent

Years Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

$2,500.0

Recurring

Crime Victims

Reparation Fund *

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

*Assumes costs of the scholarship program are capped within the limits of the appropriation.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Office of the Attorney General (OAG)

Crime Victims Reparation Commission

Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HJC Amendment

The House Judiciary Committee amendment shifts the focus of the bill from murder victims to

homicide victims; however, note that the help line would still focus on murder victims. The cap

on reparation awards is respecified as $50,000 per homicide.

House Bill 577/aHJC -- Page 2

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 577 makes numerous changes to the authority of the Crime Victims Reparation Com-

mission. First, the bill authorizes the Crime Victims Reparation Commission to pay tuition to

post-secondary educational institutions for children, regardless of age, of murder victims and

authorizes the commission to develop guidelines for the program. The bill expands the cap on

reparation awards to $50,000 per family of a murder victim, from the current $20,000 per victim.

The bill authorizes a helpline to assist families of murder victims. The bill repeals section 31-22-

24 NMSA 1978, the sunset provision of the Crime Victims Reparation Fund Act. Finally, the

bill appropriates $2.5 million from the general fund to the crime victims reparation fund.

Significant Issues

The Attorney General’s Office notes neither the bill nor the amendment defines “homicide” or

refers to NMSA Section 31-22-8 of the Crime Victims Reparation Act which enumerates crimes

for which reparation is allowed. The list includes certain criminal homicidal offences: “mur-

der”, voluntary manslaughter”, “involuntary manslaughter”, and “homicide by vehicle”. That

section does not allow reparation for all forms of “homicide”.

This bill expands the focus on the crime victims reparation commission and associated fund to a

scholarship program. Other state scholarship programs are administered by the Commission on

Higher Education.

The Crime Victims Reparation Commission currently operates a toll free victims assistance hot-

line. This hotline offers services to victims, as opposed to the target group of the bill which is

victims of murder.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $2.5 million contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY07 would revert to the

general fund.

It is not clear, but is assumed, that the $2.5 million is anticipated to cap the costs of the scholar-

ship program as well as provide for the start-up and operating costs of the telephone service.

The fiscal impact assumes costs of the scholarship program are capped within the limits of the

appropriation.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The Crime Victims Reparation Commission will need to develop policies and procedures to allo-

cate tuition payments for a new scholarship program.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

Is the intent to limit tuition payments to public post-secondary institutions in the state of New

Mexico.

House Bill 577/aHJC -- Page 3

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The Crime Victims Reparation Act is scheduled to sunset on July 1, 2006.

According to the Office of the Attorney General:

“The Crime Victims Reparation Act was enacted in 1981 to provide compensation for vic-

tims of violent crimes. It is funded by appropriations from the general fund to the crime

victim’s reparation fund. The Commission has discretion when deciding whether to make

awards, and how much money will be awarded up to the statutory limits per victim. The

Act currently allows the Commission to award funds (up to the limits) to “dependents” of

murder victims for any pecuniary loss resulting from the victim’s death which the com-

mission deems reasonable and proper. Presumably this could already include college tui-

tion for dependents of murder victims. Section 31-22-9C. The term “dependent” is defined

in the Act to include relatives who were more than 50% dependent upon the victim. How-

ever, this bill uses the term “family” with regard to the increased award limitation for

families of murder victims, but does not define that term. It changes the award scheme

with respect to dependents of murder victims from being based upon individual claimants,

to one based upon being a “family”.”

The Office of the Attorney General recommends the terms “family” and “adult children” as used

in the bill should be defined, or the bill could use either the terms “family relationship group” or

“dependent” which are already defined and used in the Act.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1.

Would there be any interaction between this scholarship program and other grants, loans

and scholarships when a post-secondary institution determines student need.

AW:RP/yr:lg