Resolution of claims against the state for wrongful imprisonment of innocent persons, exempting from taxation certain amounts an individual receives from the claims board or legislature, health benefits and other assistance for wrongfully imprisoned persons, and making an appropriation. (FE)

Claims against the state for wrongful imprisonment of innocent persons The bill provides that any petition for compensation for an innocent convict received by the Claims Board must be referred, within five days, to the Division of Hearings and Appeals in the Department of Administration. No later than 30 days after the Claims Board receives the petition, the bill provides that DOA or the office of the prosecutor who was responsible for prosecuting the petitioner may file a written request with the Claims Board for an evidentiary hearing on the petition. DOA must refer any request for an evidentiary hearing to the Division of Hearings and Appeals within five days after the Claims Board receives the request. If a request for an evidentiary hearing is filed, or if the Division of Hearings and Appeals concludes that it cannot determine the petitioner’s eligibility for compensation without a hearing, then the Division of Hearings and Appeals must hold a hearing on the petition no later than 60 days after the petition is filed. If no request for an evidentiary hearing is filed and the Division of Hearings and Appeals can determine whether the petitioner is eligible for compensation without a hearing, then the Division of Hearings and Appeals must decide the matter without a hearing. However, the bill provides that the Division of Hearings and Appeals may not deny a petition for compensation for an innocent convict without affording the petitioner an opportunity for a hearing. The bill directs the State Public Defender to represent any petitioner who requests representation if he or she is determined to be indigent or if he or she is referred to SPD by any court. With respect to each petition for compensation for an innocent convict, the bill provides that the Division of Hearings and Appeals must find either that the evidence is clear and convincing that the petitioner was innocent of the crime for which he or she suffered imprisonment or that the evidence is not clear and convincing that he or she was innocent.

If the Division of Hearings and Appeals finds that the evidence is clear and convincing that the petitioner was innocent of the crime for which he or she was imprisoned, the bill directs the Division of Hearings and Appeals to transmit its findings to the Claims Board. The bill directs the Claims Board to find the amount that will equitably compensate the petitioner for the imprisonment at a yearly rate of compensation of $50,000, adjusted annually on the basis of the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers, U.S. city average, as determined by the federal Department of Labor, rounded to the nearest thousand, but not to exceed a total award of $1,000,000. The bill provides that the Claims Board must also find any amount to which the petitioner is entitled for reasonable, actual attorney fees together with all costs and disbursements incurred by the petitioner in his or her defense, post-conviction, and compensation proceedings and all fees, surcharges, and restitution paid by the petitioner as a result of his or her arrest and imprisonment. The bill allows the Claims Board to award the compensation described above in an annuity payable over an amount of time determined by the Claims Board but not to exceed the time the petitioner was imprisoned. Further, the bill provides that, as a condition of eligibility for compensation, a petitioner automatically assigns to the Claims Board his or her right to any settlement, judgment, or award that may be obtained against any third party in any federal or state action for damages related to wrongful imprisonment for the crime for which the petitioner claims to be innocent. The assignment is considered a statutory lien on any settlement, judgment, or award received by the petitioner from the third party in an amount equal to the amount of the settlement, judgment, or award, or the amount of compensation awarded to the petitioner, whichever is less.

The bill provides that no person may file a petition with the Claims Board for compensation for wrongful imprisonment if the person was imprisoned as the result of his or her conviction for a felony in any court of this state arising from the same course of conduct that resulted in conviction for the crime of which the person claims to be innocent if the person does not claim to be innocent of that felony. Further, the bill provides that no person may file a petition with the Claims Board for compensation for wrongful imprisonment if the person is convicted of a violent crime after his or her release from imprisonment.

The bill allows certain family members of a deceased person who had the right to petition the Claims Board for compensation for wrongful imprisonment at the time of his or her death to petition the Claims Board for compensation on behalf of the decedent within one year after the death of the decedent. If more than one family member may petition the Claims Board for compensation for wrongful imprisonment of the same decedent, the bill provides that multiple family members may file a joint petition. If the Claims Board finds that a decedent was innocent of the crime for which he or she was imprisoned and finds an amount that would equitably compensate the decedent pursuant to the procedures discussed above, then the bill provides that the Claims Board must equitably allocate the award to the decedent’s eligible family members. The bill provides that the right of a family member to petition the Claims Board for compensation on behalf of a decedent may not be modified by the decedent’s will.

The bill exempts from taxation the payments that a person, or his or her estate, receives from the Claims Board or from the state legislature as a result of Claims Board action.

Health care coverage and other assistance Under current law, the Group Insurance Board contracts on behalf of the state for the purpose of providing health care coverage to state employees. The bill allows petitioners who receive compensation from the state for wrongful imprisonment to elect health care coverage under plans offered by the GIB to state employees. Such a petitioner may elect coverage for a period equal to the time he or she was imprisoned, but not to exceed five years. However, a petitioner who is eligible to obtain health care coverage offered by his or her employer or by the employer of his or her spouse may not elect or continue health care coverage as provided in the bill. Under the bill, if such petitioners elect coverage under plans offered by the GIB, they are required to pay the same health insurance premium amounts that state employees are required to pay, with the balance of the premium cost paid by the state.

Under the bill, if a person is released from imprisonment on the basis of a claim of innocence, the person may petition the court for 1) a court order directing the Department of Corrections to create a transition-to-release plan; 2) a financial assistance award not to exceed 133 percent of the federal poverty level; and 3) sealing of all records related to the case. If the person pursues a successful petition for wrongful imprisonment, any temporary financial assistance he or she received upon release from prison is subtracted from any compensation he or she receives for wrongful imprisonment.

Because this bill relates to an exemption from state or local taxes, it may be referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions for a report to be printed as an appendix to the bill.