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Minutes for HB2290 - Committee on Judiciary
Short Title
Creating a crime victims compensation division within the attorney general's office.
Minutes Content for Tue, Feb 19, 2019
Natalie Scott, Assistant Revisor, provided an overview of HB2290. There were no questions. (Attachment 1)
Derek Schmidt testified in support of HB2290 explaining since 1978, the three members of the Crime Victims Compensation Board have been appointed by the attorney general, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Since 1989, the program has been managed as part of the Attorney General’s office. The structure of how the Board, its staff and the Attorney General’s office interact has, however, at times been murky. In seeking to clarify the responsibilities, in 2012, Attorney General Schmidt entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (M.O.U.) with the Board. Under the terms of that M.O.U., he established within the office a Division of Crime Victims Compensation to administer the crime victim’s compensation program. The staff of that Division are employees of the Attorney General’s office, and the Division is led by the Executive Director, who under current law is appointed by the Board but also remains an employee of the attorney general’s office. He stated the bill before the membership seeks to codify in law some of the provisions of the 2012 M.O.U, as well as some other provisions they think makes sense now, having operated under that M.O.U. for more than six years. This structure allows the Attorney General’s office to continue managing the day-to-day business of the crime victim’s compensation program, including receiving and processing applications and making payments for approved claims. It also allows the Board members, who are unpaid volunteers, to focus on the important and fundamental task of reviewing and approving applications. Attorney General Schmidt addressed questions from the membership. (Attachment 2)
Richard Samaniego, Chair of the Kansas Crime Victims Compensation Board provided written testimony in support of HB2290, (Attachment 3)
Chairperson Patton closed the hearing on HB2290.
