
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-56 Section 622(a)-(e)(1)]
[CITE: 42USC10602]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
             CHAPTER 112--VICTIM COMPENSATION AND ASSISTANCE
 
Sec. 10602. Crime victim compensation


(a) Authority of Director; grants

    (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Director shall make an 
annual grant from the Fund to an eligible crime victim compensation 
program of 40 percent of the amounts awarded during the preceding fiscal 
year, other than amounts awarded for property damage. Except as provided 
in paragraph (3), a grant under this section shall be used by such 
program only for awards of compensation.
    (2) If the sums available in the Fund for grants under this section 
are insufficient to provide grants of 40 percent as provided in 
paragraph (1), the Director shall make, from the sums available, a grant 
to each eligible crime victim compensation program so that all such 
programs receive the same percentage of the amounts awarded by such 
program during the preceding fiscal year, other than amounts awarded for 
property damage.
    (3) Not more than 5 percent of a grant made under this section may 
be used for the administration of the State crime victim compensation 
program receiving the grant.

(b) Eligible crime victim compensation programs

    A crime victim compensation program is an eligible crime victim 
compensation program for the purposes of this section if--
        (1) such program is operated by a State and offers compensation 
    to victims and survivors of victims of criminal violence, including 
    drunk driving and domestic violence for--
            (A) medical expenses attributable to a physical injury 
        resulting from compensable crime, including expenses for mental 
        health counseling and care;
            (B) loss of wages attributable to a physical injury 
        resulting from a compensable crime; and
            (C) funeral expenses attributable to a death resulting from 
        a compensable crime;

        (2) such program promotes victim cooperation with the reasonable 
    requests of law enforcement authorities;
        (3) such State certifies that grants received under this section 
    will not be used to supplant State funds otherwise available to 
    provide crime victim compensation;
        (4) such program, as to compensable crimes occurring within the 
    State, makes compensation awards to victims who are nonresidents of 
    the State on the basis of the same criteria used to make awards to 
    victims who are residents of such State;
        (5) such program provides compensation to victims of Federal 
    crimes occurring within the State on the same basis that such 
    program provides compensation to victims of State crimes;
        (6) such program provides compensation to residents of the State 
    who are victims of crimes occurring outside the State if--
            (A) the crimes would be compensable crimes had they occurred 
        inside that State; and
            (B) the places the crimes occurred in are outside of the 
        United States (if the compensable crime is terrorism, as defined 
        in section 2331 of title 18), or are States not having eligible 
        crime victim compensation programs;

        (7) such program does not, except pursuant to rules issued by 
    the program to prevent unjust enrichment of the offender, deny 
    compensation to any victim because of that victim's familial 
    relationship to the offender, or because of the sharing of a 
    residence by the victim and the offender;
        (8) such program does not provide compensation to any person who 
    has been convicted of an offense under Federal law with respect to 
    any time period during which the person is delinquent in paying a 
    fine, other monetary penalty, or restitution imposed for the 
    offense; and
        (9) such program provides such other information and assurances 
    related to the purposes of this section as the Director may 
    reasonably require.

(c) Exclusion from income for purposes of means tests

    Notwithstanding any other law, for the purpose of any maximum 
allowed income eligibility requirement in any Federal, State, or local 
government program using Federal funds that provides medical or other 
assistance (or payment or reimbursement of the cost of such assistance) 
that becomes necessary to an applicant for such assistance in full or in 
part because of the commission of a crime against the applicant, as 
determined by the Director, any amount of crime victim compensation that 
the applicant receives through a crime victim compensation program under 
this section shall not be included in the income of the applicant until 
the total amount of assistance that the applicant receives from all such 
programs is sufficient to fully compensate the applicant for losses 
suffered as a result of the crime.

(d) Definitions

    As used in this section--
        (1) the term ``property damage'' does not include damage to 
    prosthetic devices, eyeglasses or other corrective lenses, or dental 
    devices;
        (2) the term ``medical expenses'' includes, to the extent 
    provided under the eligible crime victim compensation program, 
    expenses for eyeglasses or other corrective lenses, for dental 
    services and devices and prosthetic devices, and for services 
    rendered in accordance with a method of healing recognized by the 
    law of the State;
        (3) the term ``compensable crime'' means a crime the victims of 
    which are eligible for compensation under the eligible crime victim 
    compensation program, and includes crimes, whose victims suffer 
    death or personal injury, that are described in section 247 of title 
    18, crimes involving terrorism, driving while intoxicated, and 
    domestic violence; and
        (4) the term ``State'' includes the District of Columbia, the 
    Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other possession or territory 
    of the United States.

(e) Relationship to certain Federal programs

    Notwithstanding any other law, if the compensation paid by an 
eligible crime victim compensation program would cover costs that a 
Federal program, or a federally financed State or local program, would 
otherwise pay,-- \1\
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    \1\ So in original. The comma probably should not appear.
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        (1) such crime victim compensation program shall not pay that 
    compensation; and
        (2) the other program shall make its payments without regard to 
    the existence of the crime victim compensation program.

(Pub. L. 98-473, title II, Sec. 1403, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2171; Pub. 
L. 100-690, title VII, Secs. 7123(b)(1)-(3), 7125, 7126, Nov. 18, 1988, 
102 Stat. 4421-4423; Pub. L. 103-322, title XXIII, Secs. 230202, 230203, 
title XXXIII, Sec. 330025(b), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2079, 2151; Pub. 
L. 104-132, title II, Secs. 233(a), (b), 234(a)(1), (b), Apr. 24, 1996, 
110 Stat. 1244, 1245; Pub. L. 104-155, Sec. 5, July 3, 1996, 110 Stat. 
1394.)


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (b)(6)(B). Pub. L. 104-132, Sec. 233(b), inserted 
``are outside of the United States (if the compensable crime is 
terrorism, as defined in section 2331 of title 18), or'' before ``are 
States not having''.
    Subsec. (b)(8), (9). Pub. L. 104-132, Sec. 234(a)(1), added par. (8) 
and redesignated former par. (8) as (9).
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104-132, Sec. 234(b), added subsec. (c).
    Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 104-155 inserted ``crimes, whose victims 
suffer death or personal injury, that are described in section 247 of 
title 18,'' after ``includes''.
    Pub. L. 104-132, Sec. 233(a), substituted ``crimes involving 
terrorism, driving while intoxicated,'' for ``driving while 
intoxicated''.
    1994--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 230203(a), substituted 
``Except as provided in paragraph (3), a grant'' for ``A grant'' in last 
sentence.
    Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 230203(b), added par. (3).
    Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 330025(b), inserted before 
semicolon at end ``for--'' and subpars. (A) to (C).
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 230202, added subsec. (e).
    1988--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100-690, Secs. 7123(b)(1), (2), 7125(b), 
substituted ``Director'' for ``Attorney General'' and ``40 percent'' for 
``35 percent'' in pars. (1) and (2).
    Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 100-690, Sec. 7125(c)(1), amended par. (1) 
generally. Prior to amendment, par. (1) read as follows: ``such program 
is operated by a State and offers compensation to victims of crime and 
survivors of victims of crime for--
        ``(A) medical expenses attributable to a physical injury 
    resulting from compensable crime, including expenses for mental 
    health counseling and care;
        ``(B) loss of wages attributable to a physical injury resulting 
    from a compensable crime; and
        ``(C) funeral expenses attributable to a death resulting from a 
    compensable crime;''.
    Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 100-690, Sec. 7125(d), amended par. (5) 
generally. Prior to amendment, par. (5) read as follows: ``such program 
provides compensation to victims of crimes occurring within such State 
that would be compensable crimes, but for the fact that such crimes are 
subject to Federal jurisdiction, on the same basis that such program 
provides compensation to victims of compensable crimes; and''.
    Subsec. (b)(6), (7). Pub. L. 100-690, Sec. 7125(a)(1), added pars. 
(6) and (7). Former par. (6) redesignated (8).
    Subsec. (b)(8). Pub. L. 100-690, Secs. 7123(b)(3), 7125(a)(2), 
redesignated par. (6) as (8) and substituted ``Director'' for ``Attorney 
General''.
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100-690, Sec. 7125(e), struck out subsec. (c) 
which read as follows: ``A State crime victim compensation program in 
effect on the date grants may first be made under this section shall be 
deemed an eligible crime victim compensation program for the purposes of 
this section until the day after the close of the first regular session 
of the legislature of that State that begins after such date.''
    Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 100-690, Sec. 7126(a), inserted reference to 
eyeglasses or other corrective lenses.
    Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 100-690, Sec. 7126(b), inserted reference to 
eyeglasses or other corrective lenses and inserted comma after 
``prosthetic devices''.
    Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 100-690, Sec. 7125(c)(2), inserted reference 
to driving while intoxicated and domestic violence.


                    Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

    Section 233(d) of Pub. L. 104-132, as amended by Pub. L. 105-119, 
title I, Sec. 120, Nov. 26, 1997, 111 Stat. 2468, provided that: ``This 
section [amending this section] and the amendments made by this section 
shall take effect October 1, 1999.''


                    Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 100-690 not applicable with respect to a State 
compensation program that was an eligible State crime victim 
compensation program on Nov. 18, 1988, until Oct. 1, 1991, see section 
7129 of Pub. L. 100-690, as amended, set out as a note under section 
10601 of this title.


    Application of Amendment by Section 234(a)(1) of Pub. L. 104-132

    Section 234(a)(2) of Pub. L. 104-132 provided that: ``Section 
1403(b)(8) of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 [42 U.S.C. 10602(b)(8)], 
as added by paragraph (1) of this section, shall not be applied to deny 
victims compensation to any person until the date on which the Attorney 
General, in consultation with the Director of the Administrative Office 
of the United States Courts, issues a written determination that a cost-
effective, readily available criminal debt payment tracking system 
operated by the agency responsible for the collection of criminal debt 
has established cost-effective, readily available communications links 
with entities that administer Federal victim compensation programs that 
are sufficient to ensure that victim compensation is not denied to any 
person except as authorized by law.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 10601, 10603, 10605 of this 
title.
