Enrolled Bill Summary

            The Code of Criminal Procedure provides for a compensation to victims of crime fund, which is used by the attorney general's office to pay compensation to crime victims and to pay administrative costs of crime victim compensation. Senate Bill 987 adds a temporary subsection, expiring at the end of FY1999, to allow the legislature to appropriate money from the fund to state agencies that deliver victim-related services or assistance.

            Beginning FY2000, the act establishes a system whereby excess money in the fund may be appropriated for the same purpose. It directs the attorney general to estimate, in consultation with the comptroller of public accounts, the amount of money expected to be obligated from the fund during the next fiscal biennium and to estimate the sum of money expected to be available from the fund during that biennium. The act adds a buffer to the expected obligations and sets a formula for the excess that the legislature may appropriate. Appropriations may go to the attorney general's office for grants or contracts supporting victim-related services or assistance, as well as to other state agencies.