| 1 | 1 | | |
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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE BILL 314 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By Littleton |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | SENATE BILL 252 |
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| 6 | 6 | | By Haile |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | SB0252 |
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| 10 | 10 | | 000793 |
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| 11 | 11 | | - 1 - |
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| 12 | 12 | | |
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| 13 | 13 | | AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section |
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| 14 | 14 | | 29-13-106, relative to criminal injuries |
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| 15 | 15 | | compensation. |
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| 16 | 16 | | |
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| 17 | 17 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE: |
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| 18 | 18 | | SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 29-13-106, is amended by deleting |
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| 19 | 19 | | subsection (h) and substituting: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (h) |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) It is the intent of the general assembly that the maximum award |
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| 22 | 22 | | pursuant to subsection (e) equal no less than one hundred five percent (105%) of |
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| 23 | 23 | | the national average of the maximum compensation award provided by the fifty |
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| 24 | 24 | | (50) states within the United States, the District of Columbia, and the United |
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| 25 | 25 | | States Virgin Islands. |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2) Beginning January 1, 2026, and every three (3) years thereafter, the |
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| 27 | 27 | | state treasurer shall compare the maximum award limit for this program with the |
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| 28 | 28 | | average of the maximum award limits of the fifty (50) states within the United |
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| 29 | 29 | | States, the District of Columbia, and the United States Virgin Islands. If any of |
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| 30 | 30 | | the states or territories do not have a maximum award limit that is ascertainable |
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| 31 | 31 | | or set in a manner similar to that of Tennessee, then the state treasurer shall |
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| 32 | 32 | | eliminate that state or territory from comparison. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (3) If the state treasurer determines that the maximum is less than one |
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| 34 | 34 | | hundred five percent (105%) of the national average, then the state treasurer |
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| 35 | 35 | | shall adjust the maximum award to an amount equal to one hundred five percent |
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| 36 | 36 | | |
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| 37 | 37 | | |
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| 38 | 38 | | - 2 - 000793 |
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| 39 | 39 | | |
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| 40 | 40 | | (105%) of the national average; provided, however, that the maximum award |
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| 41 | 41 | | must be rounded up to the nearest one hundred dollars ($100). |
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| 42 | 42 | | (4) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the state treasurer shall |
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| 43 | 43 | | make an adjustment to the maximum award amount by publishing the adjusted |
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| 44 | 44 | | maximum award on the department of treasury website no later than March 1 of |
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| 45 | 45 | | the comparison year. An adjustment made pursuant to this section is effective |
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| 46 | 46 | | on July 1 of the comparison year, and applies to claims filed for crimes occurring |
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| 47 | 47 | | on or after that date. The determination and publication of the adjusted |
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| 48 | 48 | | maximum award by the state treasurer is not a rule as defined in ยง 4-5-102, and |
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| 49 | 49 | | such actions of the state treasurer are exempt from the Uniform Administrative |
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| 50 | 50 | | Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5. |
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| 51 | 51 | | SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it. |
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