An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 420 By: Coleman and Floyd of the
Senate
and
Staires and Deck of the
House
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Crime Victims
Compensation Act; amending 21 O.S. 2021, Sections
142.10 and 142.13, which relate to award of
compensation and payment of award; increasing time to
file certain claim; clarifying requirements for
certain exception; providing exception to grounds for
diminishing certain award; increasing amounts of
certain compensation; updating statutory reference;
and providing an effective date.
SUBJECT: Oklahoma Crime Victims Compensation Act
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STAT E OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 142.10, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 142.10. A. Compensation shall not be award ed:
1. Unless the claim has been filed with the Crime Victims
Compensation Board with in one (1) year thirty (30) months after the
injury or death upon which the claim is based. If the victim is
under a mental or cognitive disability or is a child under e ighteen
(18) years of age, the Board may use the date the criminal incident
was disclosed to a responsible adult when establishing whether or
not the claim was timely filed. In cases involving sexual assault
of an adult eighteen (18) years of age or older , the Board may use
ENR. S. B. NO. 420 Page 2
the date the sexual assault forensic evidence kit was tested when
establishing whether the claim was timely fil ed. The Board may, at
its discretion, extend the filing period beyond one (1) year upon a
showing of good cause or in all ca ses of sexual assault;
2. To a claimant who was the offender, or an accomplice of the
offender;
3. To another person if the award would unjustly benefit the
offender or accomplice ; or
4. Unless after the criminally injurious conduct resulting in
injury or death:
a. such conduct was reported to a law enforcement officer
within seventy-two (72) hours after its oc currence, or
b. in the case of sexual assault, the victim undergoes a
forensic medical examinati on within one hundred twenty
(120) hours after its occurrence, or
c. the Board finds there was g ood cause for the failure
to report the crime or obtain a forensic medi cal
examination within that the time specified in
subparagraph a or b of this paragraph .
B. Compensation otherwise payable to a claimant s hall be
diminished to the extent:
1. That the economic loss is recouped from collateral sources;
or
2. Of the degree of responsibility for the cause of the injury
or death attributable to the victim a s determined by the Board.
Provided, a self-inflicted injury shall not be attributable to the
victim when the Board finds the injury is a direct result of the
crime committed against the victim.
C. The Board, upon finding that the claimant or victim has not
fully cooperated with appropriate law enforcement agencies, may
deny, withdraw or reduce an awar d of compensation. Victims of
sexual assault who undergo a forensic m edical examination within one
ENR. S. B. NO. 420 Page 3
hundred twenty (120) hours after the sexual assault sha ll be found
to have fully cooperated. The Board may ex tend this period of time
for good cause.
D. The Board, on its own motion or on request of the claimant,
may reconsider a decision granting or denying an award or
determining its amount. The motion o r request to reconsider a
decision shall be made within six (6) months from the date of the
last action by the Board on the claim at issue. An order on
reconsideration of an award shall not require a refund of amounts
previously paid, unless the award was obtained by fraud. The right
of reconsideration does n ot affect the finality of a Board decision
for the purpose of judicial review. On claims which are denied by
the Board, reconsideration may only be granted within six (6) months
of the last Board act ion.
E. The provisions of subsections A and B of this s ection shall
not apply to claimants eligible f or compensation pursuant to the
Murrah Crime Victims Compensation Act who make claims under the
Oklahoma Crime Victims Compensation A ct.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 142 .13, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 142.13. A. The Crime Victim s Compensation Board may
compensate for work loss, replacement services loss, dependent ’s
economic loss and dependent ’s replacement service loss.
Compensation for a caregiver who has out-of-pocket wage loss as a
result of caring for the victim who was inj ured as a result of
criminally injurious co nduct may not exceed Three Thousand Dollars
($3,000.00).
B. Compensation payabl e to a victim and to all other claimants
sustaining economic loss because of injury to or death of that
victim may not exceed Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) Twenty-
five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) in the aggregate. The Board may,
after approval of an initial award of Twenty Thousand Dollars
($20,000.00) Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), grant an
additional sum not to exceed Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00)
Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), specifically for loss of
wages for the victim or loss of support for dependents of a deceased
victim, provided, there is verifiable economic lo ss after deducting
ENR. S. B. NO. 420 Page 4
payments from other sou rces. In no event shall compensation payable
to a victim and to all other claimants sustaining economic los s
because of injury to or death of that victim exceed Forty Thousand
Dollars ($40,000.00) Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) in the
aggregate.
C. The Board may provide for the paymen t to a claimant in a
lump sum or in installments. At the request of th e claimant, the
Board may convert future economic loss, other than allowable
expense, to a lump sum.
D. An award payable in a lump sum or installments for loss of
support for a depende nt of the deceased victim may be computed
through a formula which calc ulates the net loss of support for
dependents based upon an es timated date of retirement or an
estimated date of adulthood for dependent children, beginn ing with
the date of death of the victim and ending with the least of one of
the following time periods for each dependent filing loss of
support:
1. The amount of time from the date of death of the victim to
the date the victim would have been expected t o reach sixty-two (62)
years of age;
2. The amount of time from the date of death of the victim to
the date the spouse of the victim is expected to reach sixty -two
(62) years of age; or
3. The amount of time f rom the date of death of the victim to
the date a dependent child is expected to reach eighteen (18) years
of age or twenty-three (23) years of a ge if the dependent child is
enrolled as a full-time student. An award payable in installments
for future loss of support may be modified by the Board in t he event
a dependent child receiv ing loss of support is between the ages of
eighteen (18) and twenty -three (23) years of age and is no longer
enrolled as a full-time student, the dependent dies before all
installments are paid or the dependent receiving in stallments moves
and leaves no forwarding address with the Board office.
E. An award shall not be subject to execution, attachment,
garnishment or other process, ex cept for child support and except
that an award for allowable expense shall not be exempt f rom a claim
ENR. S. B. NO. 420 Page 5
of a creditor to the extent that such creditor has provided
products, services or accom modations, the costs of which are
included in the award.
F. An assignment by the claimant to any future award u nder the
provisions of this act Section 142.1 et seq. of this title is
unenforceable, except:
1. An assignment of any award for work loss to assure payment
of court ordered alimony, maintenance or child support; or
2. An assignment of any award for allowable expense to the
extent that the benefits are for the cost of products, servic es or
accommodations necessitated by the injury or death on which the
claim is based and are provided or to be provi ded by the assignee.
G. The Board may, in its discretion, approve payment of crisis
counseling, occurring within three (3) years of the cri me, in an
amount not to exceed Th ree Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00) for each
family member of a homicide victim; provi ded, the counselor is a
qualified mental health care provider. Medical and pharmaceutical
treatment is not compensable for any family membe r of a deceased
victim.
H. Outpatient counseling expenses for a victim of criminally
injurious conduct may be consi dered by the Board provided the
counseling is focused on the crime and the counselor is a qualified
mental health care provider. A total no t to exceed Three Thousand
Dollars ($3,000.00) may be awarded for individual couns eling
sessions for victims of crim inally injurious conduct. Sessions
between the mental health care provider and nonoffending parents of
a victimized child under eighteen (1 8) years of age may also be
included in the award provided the combined total for the counseling
and parental sessions do does not exceed Three Thousand Dollars
($3,000.00) and the parental sessions relate to the victimization.
In extreme cases, the Board may, in its discretion, waive the thr ee-
thousand-dollar limit. Inpatient mental health treatment will be
reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may be compensated, at the
discretion of the Board, in an amount not to exceed Twenty Thousand
Dollars ($20,000.00).
ENR. S. B. NO. 420 Page 6
I. Reasonable funeral, cremation or burial expenses shall not
exceed Seven Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($7,500.00 ).
J. Reasonable costs associated with crime sce ne cleanup shall
not exceed Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00).
K. Loss of income of a careg iver shall not exceed Three
Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00).
L. Reasonable costs for vehicle impound fees are limited to
violent crimes occurring in a vehicle owned by the victim of the
violent crime or an eligible claimant, provided such fee is
associated with the collection and security o f crime scene evidence.
Reimbursement for vehicle impound fees shall not exceed Se ven
Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00).
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
ENR. S. B. NO. 420 Page 7
Passed the Senate the 21st day of March, 2023.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the 20th day of April, 2023.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this _______ _____________
day of _________________ __, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _______________________________ __
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _____ ____
day of _________________ __, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this _______ ___
day of __________________, 20 _______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _______________________________ __