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Debate over restoring and raising the victim penalty assessment centers on funding for victim services
Summary
Two bills heard together — HB 24-30 (restore mandatory victim penalty assessment) and HB 24-57 (increase the assessment) — drew split testimony: victim advocates, prosecutors and county officials urged restoring funds that support victim services, while defender organizations warned mandatory or larger fines would burden indigent defendants and worsen court debt problems.
Lena Langer provided background on the crime-victim penalty assessment (CVPA), noting the current assessment is $500 for felonies/gross misdemeanors and $250 for misdemeanors and that revenue must be deposited into a fund supporting comprehensive victim services. She briefed the committee on two related bills heard together: HB 24-30 would reinstate or require the CVPA more broadly, while HB 24-57 would raise the CVPA to $2,000 for felonies/gross misdemeanors and $1,000 for misdemeanors, add an indigency-definition change and allow courts to impose an additional surcharge up to…
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