Bill Text: HI HB305 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating To Collection Of Restitution For Crime Victims.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-23 - Referred to JUD, FIN, referral sheet 2 [HB305 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-HB305-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	305
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to collection of restitution for crime victims.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  Chapter 706, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part III to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§706-     Income withholding for payment of restitution.  (1)  Whenever a person is sentenced to supervision under adult client services and a judgment or order is entered establishing, modifying, or enforcing restitution, the court shall allow ninety days for a defendant to make payment in full.  If the judgment or order is not satisfied after ninety days, the court shall issue an income withholding order that shall operate as an assignment, to the clerk of the court in which the order is entered, of amounts that are due at times that may be specified in the judgment or order, but no less than $30 per month, from the defendant's income that is due or to become due in the future from the defendant's employer or successor employers.  A copy of the income withholding order shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the court in which the income withholding order was issued.

     (2)  The income withholding order issued pursuant to subsection (1) shall be effective immediately after service upon an employer of a copy of the income withholding order, which service may be effected only by the prosecuting attorney of the county where the offense occurred by regular mail, by personal delivery, or by transmission through electronic means.  Thereafter, for each pay period, the employer shall withhold from the income that is due to the defendant from the employer and that is not required to be withheld by any other federal or state law, and transmit to the clerk of the court in which the order is entered as much as may remain payable for the pay period, up to the amount specified in the order.  The employer shall immediately inform the court of any change that would affect the income withholding order.

     (3)  Compliance by an employer with the income withholding order shall operate as a discharge of the employer's liability to the defendant for that portion of the defendant's earnings withheld and transmitted to the clerk of the court from which the order is issued, regardless of whether the employer has withheld the correct amount.  For each payment made pursuant to an income withholding order, the employer may deduct and retain as an administrative fee an additional amount of $2 from the income owed to the defendant.  The total amount withheld from the defendant's income, including the administrative fee, shall not exceed the maximum amounts permitted under section 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. §1673(b)).

     (4)  Any income withholding order made pursuant to this section shall:

     (a)  Have priority as against any garnishment, attachment, execution, or other income withholding order, or any other order, except for any order made pursuant to chapters 571, 576B, 576D, 576E, 580, and 584; and

     (b)  Not be subject to the exemptions or restrictions contained in part III of chapter 651 and in chapters 652 and 653.

     (5)  An employer who fails to comply with an income withholding order under this section shall be liable to the obligee for the full amount of all sums not withheld and transmitted as ordered.  An employer receiving an income withholding order shall:

     (a)  Transmit amounts withheld to the clerk of the court within five business days after the defendant is paid, either by cash, cashier’s check, money order, or commercial check; and

     (b)  Begin withholding no later than the first pay period commencing within seven business days following the date a copy of the income withholding order is served upon the employer by regular mail, personal delivery, or electronic means.

     (6)  An employer who:

     (a)  Complies with an income withholding order that is valid on its face shall not be subject to civil liability to any person, entity, or agency for conduct in compliance with the order; and

     (b)  Is required to withhold amounts from the income of more than one employee, may remit to the clerk of the court a sum total of all amounts in one lump sum via cash, cashier’s check, money order, or commercial check, with a listing of the amounts applicable to each employee.  Within twenty-one business days after receipt of the amounts withheld by the employer, the clerk of the court shall disburse the amounts to the obligee.

     (7)  An income withholding order shall be terminated by a court order, when appropriate.  The court shall promptly refund any amount withheld in error to the defendant.

     (8)  If there is more than one restitution judgment or order, the amounts withheld from the income of a defendant shall be allocated among the different restitution judgments or orders.  If the multiple income withholding orders would cause the amounts withheld from the defendant's income to exceed wage withholding limitations established under this section, the amount withheld shall be allocated so that in no case shall the allocation result in a withholding for any of the restitution obligations not being implemented.

     (9)  If a defendant changes employment while an income withholding order is in effect, the defendant shall notify and provide the clerk of the court with the new employer's contact information within five business days of the change.  The clerk of the court shall notify the defendant's new employer of the defendant's and the new employer's respective obligations under this section.  The new employer shall be bound by the income withholding order until further court order.

     (10)  As used in this section, and notwithstanding any other provision of law:

     "Business day" means a day on which the employer's office is open for regular business.

     "Employer" means any individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, corporation, personal representative of the estate of a deceased individual, or receiver, trustee, or successor of any of the same, employing any individual, including the United States government, State, and any political subdivision thereof, who is or shall become obligated for payment of income; provided that this meaning shall not apply if the employed individual is incarcerated in a correctional facility or engaged in an inmate work furlough program within the State.

     "Income" includes without limitation salaries, wages, earnings, workers' compensation, commissions, fees, bonuses, independent contractor income, and any other entitlement to money, including moneys payable as a disability, death, or other benefit, or moneys from the State or a political subdivision thereof, or from any disability system established by the State or any political subdivision thereof under law."

     SECTION 2.  Section 231-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "debt " to read as follows:

     ""Debt" includes:

     (1)  Any delinquency in periodic court-ordered or administrative-ordered payments for child support pursuant to section 576D-1, in an amount equal to or exceeding the sum of payments which would become due over a one-month period;

     (2)  Any liquidated sum exceeding $25 which is due and owing any claimant agency, regardless of whether there is an outstanding judgment for that sum, and whether the sum has accrued through contract, subrogation, tort, operation of law, or judicial or administrative judgment or order;

     (3)  Any defaulted education loan note held by the United Student Aid Funds, Inc. incurred under the federal Higher Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-329, 79 Stat. 1219), as amended;

     (4)  Any federal income taxes due and owing to the United States Treasurer; [or]

     (5)  Any medicaid overpayment under section 346-59.6[.]; or

     (6)  Any unpaid court-ordered restitution enforceable as a civil judgment pursuant to section 706-647."

     SECTION 3.  Section 706-646, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§706-646  Victim restitution.  (1)  As used in this section, "victim" includes any of the following:

     (a)  The direct victim of a crime including a business entity, trust, or governmental entity;

     (b)  If the victim dies as a result of the crime, a surviving relative of the victim as defined in chapter 351;

     (c)  A governmental entity that has reimbursed the victim for losses arising as a result of the crime or paid for medical care provided to the victim as a result of the crime; or

     (d)  Any duly incorporated humane society or duly incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, contracted with the county or State to enforce animal-related statutes or ordinances, that impounds, holds, or receives custody of a pet animal pursuant to section 711-1109.1, 711-1109.2, or 711‑1110.5; provided that this section does not apply to costs that have already been contracted and provided for by the counties or State.

     (2)  The court shall order the defendant to make restitution for reasonable and verified losses suffered by the victim or victims as a result of the defendant's offense when requested by the victim.  The court shall order restitution to be paid to the crime victim compensation commission if the victim has been given an award for compensation under chapter 351.  If the court orders payment of a fine in addition to restitution or a compensation fee, or both, the payment of restitution and compensation fee shall be made pursuant to section 706-651.

     (3)  In ordering restitution, the court shall not consider the defendant's financial ability to make restitution in determining the amount of restitution to order.  The court, however, shall consider the defendant's financial ability to make restitution for the purpose of establishing the time and manner of payment.  The court shall specify the time and manner in which restitution is to be paid.  While the defendant is in the custody of the department of public safety, restitution shall be collected pursuant to chapter 353 and any court-ordered payment schedule shall be suspended.  Restitution shall be a dollar amount that is sufficient to reimburse any victim fully for losses, including but not limited to:

     (a)  Full value of stolen or damaged property, as determined by replacement costs of like property, or the actual or estimated cost of repair, if repair is possible;

     (b)  Medical expenses; and

     (c)  Funeral and burial expenses incurred as a result of the crime.

     (4)  In any criminal proceeding before any court, all money deposited by the defendant as bail and not declared forfeited shall be applied toward payment of any restitution, fines, or fees ordered by the court in the same case, consistent with the priorities in subsection (2).

     [(4)] (5)  The restitution ordered shall not affect the right of a victim to recover under section 351-33 or in any manner provided by law; provided that any amount of restitution actually recovered by the victim under this section shall be deducted from any award under section 351-33."

     SECTION 4.  Section 806-73, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  All adult probation records shall be confidential and shall not be deemed to be public records.  As used in this section, the term "records" includes[,] but is not limited to[,] all records made by any adult probation officer in the course of performing the probation officer's official duties.  The records, or the content of the records, shall be divulged only as follows:

     (1)  A copy of any adult probation case record or of a portion of it, or the case record itself, upon request, may be provided to:

         (A)  An adult probation officer, court officer, social worker of a Hawaii state adult probation unit, or a family court officer who is preparing a report for the courts; or

         (B)  A state or federal criminal justice agency, or state or federal court program that:

              (i)  Is providing supervision of a defendant or offender convicted and sentenced by the courts of Hawaii; or

             (ii)  Is responsible for the preparation of a report for a court;

     (2)  The residence address, work address, home telephone number, or work telephone number of a current or former defendant shall be provided only to:

         (A)  A law enforcement officer as defined in section 710-1000 to locate the probationer for the purpose of serving a summons or bench warrant in a civil, criminal, or deportation hearing, or for the purpose of a criminal investigation; or

         (B)  A collection agency or licensed attorney contracted by the judiciary to collect any delinquent court-ordered penalties, fines, restitution, sanctions, and court costs pursuant to section 601-17.5[[];[]]

     (3)  A copy of a presentence report or investigative report shall be provided only to:

         (A)  The persons or entities named in section 706-604;

         (B)  The Hawaii paroling authority;

         (C)  Any psychiatrist, psychologist, or other treatment practitioner who is treating the defendant pursuant to a court order or parole order for that treatment;

         (D)  The intake service centers;

         (E)  In accordance with applicable law, persons or entities doing research; and

         (F)  Any Hawaii state adult probation officer or adult probation officer of another state or federal jurisdiction who:

              (i)  Is engaged in the supervision of a defendant or offender convicted and sentenced in the courts of Hawaii; or

             (ii)  Is engaged in the preparation of a report for a court regarding a defendant or offender convicted and sentenced in the courts of Hawaii;

     (4)  Access to adult probation records by a victim, as defined in section 706-646 to enforce an order filed pursuant to section 706-647, shall be limited to the [name]:

         (A)  Name and contact information of the defendant's adult probation officer;

         (B)  Compliance record of the defendant with court-ordered payments;

         (C)  Amounts paid by the defendant;

         (D)  Dates of the payments made by the defendant;

         (E)  Payee of payments made by the defendant; and

         (F)  Remaining unpaid balance;

          without the assessment of a filing fee or surcharge;

     (5)  Upon written request, the victim, or the parent or guardian of a minor victim or incapacitated victim, of a defendant who has been placed on probation for an offense under section 580-10(d)(1), 586-4(e), 586-11(a), or 709-906 may be notified by the defendant's probation officer when the probation officer has any information relating to the safety and welfare of the victim;

     (6)  Notwithstanding paragraph (3) and upon notice to the defendant, records and information relating to the defendant's risk assessment and need for treatment services; information related to the defendant's past treatment and assessments, with the prior written consent of the defendant for information from a treatment service provider; provided that for any substance abuse records such release shall be subject to title 42 Code of Federal Regulations part 2, relating to the confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patient records; and information that has therapeutic or rehabilitative benefit, may be provided to:

         (A)  A case management, assessment[[],[]] or treatment service provider assigned by adult probation to service the defendant; provided that such information shall be given only upon the acceptance or admittance of the defendant into a treatment program;

         (B)  Correctional case manager, correctional unit manager, and parole officers involved with the defendant's treatment or supervision; and

         (C)  In accordance with applicable law, persons or entities doing research;

     (7)  Probation drug test results may be released with prior written consent of a defendant to the defendant's treating physician when test results indicate substance use which may be compromising the defendant's medical care or treatment;

     (8)  Records obtained pursuant to section [[]704-404(9)[]] may be made available as provided in that section;

     (9)  Any person, agency, or entity receiving records, or contents of records, pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the same restrictions on disclosure of the records as Hawaii state adult probation offices; and

    (10)  Any person who uses the information covered by this subsection for purposes inconsistent with the intent of this subsection or outside of the scope of the person's official duties shall be fined no more than $500."

     SECTION 5.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

     SECTION 6.  If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

     SECTION 7.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 8.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________
	By Request

 

 

Report Title:

Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Package; Crime Victims; Restitution; Collection

 

Description:

Creates standards and procedures for income-withholding for purposes of enforcing restitution orders.  Clarifies the priority of income withholding orders.  Amends the definition of "debt" relating to the recovery of money owed to the State to include court-ordered restitution subject to civil enforcement.  Extends victims' access to adult probation records to include access to payment compliance records.  Requires that any bail posted by a defendant be applied toward payment of any court-ordered restitution in the same case.

 

 

 

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