SECOND REGULAR SESSION
93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES PARSON (Sponsor), JONES, TILLEY, JOHNSON (47), CUNNINGHAM (145), MUNZLINGER, WRIGHT (159), WELLS, DENISON, PORTWOOD, DAY, SMITH (150), HOBBS, WILSON (130), WASSON, RICHARD, SCHLOTTACH, FAITH, DOUGHERTY, BAKER (25), STEVENSON, FISHER, SCHARNHORST, WETER, NOLTE, AULL, SWINGER, MEINERS, DONNELLY, CHAPPELLE NADAL, YAEGER, BROWN (50), LAMPE, OXFORD, CASEY, MEADOWS, WILSON (119), RECTOR, DUSENBERG, McGHEE, MUSCHANY, POLLOCK, HENKE, DEEKEN, SCHAD, WRIGHT (137), RUESTMAN, SHOEMYER, YOUNG, SKAGGS, KRATKY, KUESSNER, WALTON, SATER, ROORDA, DAKE, WITTE, CUNNINGHAM (86), SANDERS BROOKS, MOORE AND SANDER, (Co-sponsors).
Read 1st time March 15, 2006 and copies ordered printed.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 595.020 and 595.030, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to crime victims' compensation.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 595.020 and 595.030, RSMo, are repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 595.020 and 595.030, to read as follows:
595.020. 1. Except as hereinafter provided, the following persons shall be eligible for compensation pursuant to sections 595.010 to 595.075:
(1) A victim of a crime;
(2) In the case of a sexual assault victim:
(a) A relative of the victim requiring counseling in order to better assist the victim in his recovery; and
(3) In the case of the death of the victim as a direct result of the crime:
(a) A dependent of the victim;
(b) Any member of the family who legally assumes the obligation, or who pays the medical or burial expenses incurred as a direct result thereof; and
(c) A survivor of the victim requiring counseling as a direct result of the death of the victim.
2. An offender or an accomplice of an offender shall in no case be eligible to receive compensation with respect to a crime committed by the offender. No victim or dependent shall be denied compensation solely because he is a relative of the offender or was living with the offender as a family or household member at the time of the injury or death. However, the division may award compensation to a victim or dependent who is a relative, family or household member of the offender only if the division can reasonably determine the offender will receive no substantial economic benefit or unjust enrichment from the compensation.
3. No compensation of any kind may be made to a victim or intervenor injured while confined in any federal, state, county, or municipal jail, prison or other correctional facility, including house arrest.
4. No compensation of any kind may be made to a victim who has been finally adjudicated and found guilty, in a criminal prosecution under the laws of this state, of two felonies within the past ten years, of which one or both involves illegal drugs or violence or of a violation under section 577.023, RSMo. The division may waive this restriction if it determines that the interest of justice would be served otherwise.
5. In the case of a claimant who is not otherwise ineligible pursuant to subsection 4 of this section, who is incarcerated as a result of a conviction of a crime not related to the incident upon which the claim is based at the time of application, or at any time following the filing of the application:
(1) The division shall suspend all proceedings and payments until such time as the claimant is released from incarceration;
(2) The division shall notify the applicant at the time the proceedings are suspended of the right to reactivate the claim within six months of release from incarceration. The notice shall be deemed sufficient if mailed to the applicant at the applicant's last known address;
(3) The claimant shall file an application to request that the case be reactivated not later than six months after the date the claimant is released from incarceration. Failure to file such request within the six-month period shall serve as a bar to any recovery.
6. Victims of crime who are not residents of the state of Missouri may be compensated only when federal funds are available for that purpose. Compensation for nonresident victims shall terminate when federal funds for that purpose are no longer available.
7. A Missouri resident who suffers personal physical injury or, in the case of death, a dependent of the victim or any member of the family who legally assumes the obligation, or who pays the medical or burial expenses incurred as a direct result thereof, in another state, possession or territory of the United States may make application for compensation in Missouri if:
(1) The victim of the crime would be compensated if the crime had occurred in the state of Missouri;
(2) The place that the crime occurred is a state, possession or territory of the United States, or location outside of the United States that is covered and defined in 18 U.S.C. section 2331, that does not have a crime victims' compensation program for which the victim is eligible and which provides at least the same compensation that the victim would have received if he had been injured in Missouri.
595.030. 1. No compensation shall be paid unless the claimant has incurred an out-of-pocket loss of at least fifty dollars or has lost two continuous weeks of earnings or support from gainful employment. "Out-of-pocket loss" shall mean unreimbursed or unreimbursable expenses or indebtedness reasonably incurred for medical care or other services, including psychiatric, psychological or counseling expenses, necessary as a result of the crime upon which the claim is based, except that the amount paid for psychiatric, psychological or counseling expenses per eligible claim shall not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars.
2. No compensation shall be paid unless the division of workers' compensation finds that a crime was committed, that such crime directly resulted in personal physical injury to, or the death of, the victim, and that police records show that such crime was promptly reported to the proper authorities. In no case may compensation be paid if the police records show that such report was made more than forty-eight hours after the occurrence of such crime, unless the division of workers' compensation finds that the report to the police was delayed for good cause. If the victim is under eighteen years of age such report may be made by the victim's parent, guardian or custodian; by a physician, a nurse, or hospital emergency room personnel; by the division of family services personnel; or by any other member of the victim's family.
3. No compensation shall be paid for medical care if the service provider is not a medical provider as that term is defined in section 595.027, and the individual providing the medical care is not licensed by the state of Missouri or the state in which the medical care is provided.
4. No compensation shall be paid for psychiatric treatment or other counseling services, including psychotherapy, unless the service provider is a:
(1) Physician licensed pursuant to chapter 334, RSMo, or licensed to practice medicine in the state in which the service is provided;
(2) Psychologist licensed pursuant to chapter 337, RSMo, or licensed to practice psychology in the state in which the service is provided;
(3) Clinical social worker licensed pursuant to chapter 337, RSMo; or
(4) Professional counselor licensed pursuant to chapter 337, RSMo.
5. Any compensation paid pursuant to sections 595.010 to 595.075 for death or personal injury shall be in an amount not exceeding out-of-pocket loss, together with loss of earnings or support from gainful employment, not to exceed [two] four hundred dollars per week, resulting from such injury or death. In the event of death of the victim, an award may be made for reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred for preparation and burial not to exceed five thousand dollars.
6. Compensation shall be paid under sections 595.010 to 595.075 for replacement of clothing, bedding, or other personal items of the victim that are seized by law enforcement as evidence of the crime and shall be in an amount equal to the loss sustained and not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars.
7. Any compensation for loss of earnings or support from gainful employment shall be in an amount equal to the actual loss sustained not to exceed two hundred dollars per week; provided, however, that no award pursuant to sections 595.010 to 595.075 shall exceed twenty-five thousand dollars. If two or more persons are entitled to compensation as a result of the death of a person which is the direct result of a crime or in the case of a sexual assault, the compensation shall be apportioned by the division of workers' compensation among the claimants in proportion to their loss.
[7.] 8. The method and timing of the payment of any compensation pursuant to sections 595.010 to 595.075 shall be determined by the division.
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