ASSEMBLY LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 2933

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MAY 5, 1997

      The Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 2933.

      Assembly Bill No. 2933 provides for the set-off against, and collection from, an individual's State gross income tax refund and homestead property tax rebate for any amount that individual owes to the Victims of Crime Compensation Board (VCCB) for any assessment or restitution the court has ordered that individual to pay as compensation to the victim of a violent crime or his family.

      This use of the Set-Off of Individual Liability (SOIL) program will facilitate the collection of delinquent payments of restitution and assessments of compensation from inmates, parolees and probationers who have failed to make the scheduled payments ordered by the court at the time of sentencing.

      The VCCB is the collector of, and the depository for, the assessments and restitutions convicted offenders are required to pay to compensate crime victims. It is estimated that there is over $150 million in unpaid court-imposed fines, penalties, restitutions and assessments. Under the SOIL program, the State would identify and intercept the income tax refunds and homestead rebates of those offenders who are delinquent and would pay those refund and rebate amounts to the VCCB. Currently, the SOIL program is being used by more than 36 State agencies and has generated nearly $20 million from approximately 1.6 million debtors.