ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITURE FOR

SENATE, No. 2082

with Assembly committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: DECEMBER 11, 1997

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 2082 SCS, with committee amendments.

      Senate Bill No. 2082 Scs, as amended, supplements Title 30 of the Revised Statutes to impose a 10% surcharge on all commissary sales in State and county correctional facilities to generate additional revenues to compensate crime victims pursuant to the "Criminal Injuries Compensation Act of 1971," P.L.1971, c.317 (C.52:4B-1 et seq.) or any other law.

      Currently, each defendant found guilty of a criminal offense is required by law to pay an assessment to the Victims of Crime Compensation Board (VCCB). The moneys paid into the VCCB's account are used to provide compensation to the victims of crime.

      As amended by this committee, this bill is identical to the Assembly Committee Substitute for Assembly Bill No. 2731 as reported by this committee.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The VCCB surcharge authorized under this bill is expected to generate generate between $1.2 and $1.5 million annually for the VCCB. When coupled with federal matching funds, the VCCB should have approximately $2 million in new moneys available to compensate crime victims.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments make two technical changes to the bill recommended by the Department of Corrections: (1) deleting rulemaking authority that would have required the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections to make rules governing the county correctional facilities that are not under the department's supervision and (2) deferring the operative date of the bill for 180 days after its enactment, to allow the departmental and the county facilities to make bookkeeping and other administrative changes.