Sunday, September 7, 2008
The General Assembly is not in session.
Tracking Virginia’s General Assembly
since 2007.
HB2478: Wrongful Incarceration Fund; created.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 8.01-195.11 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 8.01-195.11.1 as follows:
§ 8.01-195.11. Compensation for wrongful incarceration.
A. Any person who is convicted of a felony by a county or city circuit court of the Commonwealth and is wrongfully incarcerated for such felony may be awarded compensation from the Wrongful Incarceration Fund in an amount equal to 90 percent of the Virginia per capita personal income as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce for each year, or portion thereof, of incarceration up to 20 years.
B. Any compensation computed pursuant to subsection A and approved by the General Assembly shall be paid by the Comptroller by his warrant on the State Treasurer in favor of the person found to have been wrongfully incarcerated. The person wrongfully incarcerated shall be paid an initial lump sum equal to 20 percent of the compensation award with the remaining 80 percent of the principal of the compensation award to be used by the State Treasurer to purchase an annuity from any A+ rated company, including any A+ rated company from which the State Lottery Department may purchase an annuity, to provide equal monthly payments to such person for a period certain of 25 years commencing no later than one year after the effective date of the appropriation. The annuity shall provide that it shall not be sold, discounted, or used as securitization for loans and mortgages by the person awarded compensation. The annuity shall, however, contain beneficiary provisions providing for the annuity's continued disbursement in the event of the death of the person awarded compensation. All payments or costs of annuities under this section shall be made by check issued by the State Treasurer on warrant of the Comptroller.
C. Any person who is convicted of a felony by a county or city
circuit court of the Commonwealth and is wrongfully incarcerated for such
felony shall receive a transition assistance grant of $15,000 to be paid from
the CriminalWrongful Incarceration
Fund, which amount shall be deducted from any award received pursuant to
subsection B. In addition, such person shall be entitled to receive
reimbursement up to $10,000 for tuition for career and technical training
within the Virginia community college system contingent upon successful
completion of the training. Reimbursement for tuition shall be provided by the
community college at which the career or technical training was completed.
§ 8.01-195.11:1. Creation of the Wrongful Incarceration Fund; fees.
A. There is hereby created in the Department of the Treasury the Wrongful Incarceration Fund (the Fund), a special nonreverting fund. The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. The Fund shall consist of such moneys appropriated by the General Assembly and fees which shall be assessed against each attorney licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth and each full-time judge of a court of record or a court not of record in the Commonwealth. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be available for compensation for wrongful incarceration as defined in § 8.01-195.10.
B. Each attorney licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth and each full-time judge of a court of record or a court not of record in the Commonwealth shall be assessed an annual fee which shall be deposited to the Fund. The fees assessed against each judge shall be paid by the judge personally and shall not be paid by the Commonwealth or any funds appropriated to the court system. The amount of the fee shall be set by the General Assembly on or before December 1 of each year and shall be due and payable by January 31 of each year beginning January 31, 2008.
Additional Data
Explanation
This is the actual text of the bill — the legislation itself. Generally this is amending existing law, proposing the addition or removal of words from laws that are already on the books.
Words that are highlighted in yellow are
proposed additions, and words that are crossed out in
red are proposed removals.
The numbers with the § symbol before them are references to existing laws, and if you click on them they’ll take you to that part of the law on the state's website.