Victims of crime; compensation, extends time for filing a claim.
HB1968 amends Virginia’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund statutes to expand and clarify compensation for victims of crime. The bill’s central change is to extend the filing deadline for victim compensation claims from one year to three years after the crime or the victim’s death. It also preserves special tolling rules for minors and incapacitated persons, keeps a longer filing window for certain sexual abuse claims, and allows the Commission to extend deadlines for good cause in some cases. For older crimes, the bill continues to permit late filing when newly discovered evidence leads to an investigation, but limits what expenses can be considered in those cases.
The bill also updates related eligibility and payment provisions. It maintains the requirement that crimes be promptly reported to law enforcement, but clarifies that delays over 120 hours may be excused for good cause, and that this reporting rule does not apply to sexual abuse claims. It continues compensation for lost wages, medical costs, funeral expenses, counseling, moving expenses, and other direct crime-related losses, while preserving the overall award cap and offsets for other payments received. The bill also reinforces payment rules for sexual assault forensic examinations and public notice obligations so victims are informed of possible compensation rights.
HB1968 amends several sections of the Code of Virginia governing crime victim compensation, especially 19.2-368.5, 19.2-368.10, 19.2-368.11:1, and 19.2-368.17. Its main legal effect is to lengthen the general statute of limitations for filing compensation claims from one year to three years, while retaining and refining exceptions for minors, incapacitated claimants, sexual abuse survivors, and certain reopened cases involving newly discovered evidence. It also preserves the Commission’s authority over awards, reporting requirements, offsets, and maximum benefit limits, and it continues to require public education and law-enforcement notification about compensation rights. The bill affects crime victims, survivors, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, the Commission, prosecutors, and law-enforcement agencies.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It advanced through subcommittee, committee, both chambers, and conference with overwhelmingly favorable votes and no recorded opposition at the key stages shown. The final conference report was adopted by both the Senate and House, indicating consensus on the need to give victims more time to seek compensation and to clarify the claims process.
The main policy issue in the bill was how far to extend the filing deadline and how to balance expanded access with administrative limits on the compensation fund. The House initially rejected a Senate amendment, suggesting some disagreement over the final wording or scope of changes, but the chambers ultimately resolved the differences in conference. The bill also preserves existing reporting and cooperation requirements, with exceptions for sexual abuse and good-cause delays, which are the most likely areas of practical dispute because they affect eligibility for awards.