United States · Bill · HR
H.R. 1961 (96th)
Victims of Crime Act of 1979
Introduced
8 February 1979
Last action
8 February 1979 · Introduced
Status
Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
Sponsors
Rep. Holtzman, Elizabeth [D-NY-16]
Subjects
Discovery layer
Source updated
2 September 2025
Summary
Victims of Crime Act of 1979- Directs the Attorney General to make grants to qualifying State programs for the compensation of victims of crime. Requires that such programs: (1) offer compensation for personal injuries suffered as a result of qualifying State and Federal crimes; (2) offer compensation to surviving dependents of persons whose deaths resulted from such crimes; (3) grant claimants the right to a hearing; (4) require cooperation with law enforcement agencies as a condition for recovery; (5) do not require claimants to accept welfare benefits; and (6) require denial or reduction of a claim where the victim contributes to the injury suffered. Requires such States to have in effect laws which: (1) subrogate the State to any claim the victim or dependent has against the perpetrator to the extent of the amount compensated by the State; (2) provide emergency assistance; and (3) require law enforcement agencies to take reasonable care to inform victims of qualifying crimes of compensation programs. States that grants made under this Act shall total 25 percent of the allowable compensation paid to victims and dependent survivors of victims of State crimes designated by the State as appropriate for compensation under this program and 100 percent of the allowable compensation paid to victims and dependent survivors of victims of crimes which would constitute designated State crimes except for the fact that the crime is subject to exclusive Federal jurisdiction. Sets forth specified expenses that may not be included in the State program's cost of paying compensation when determining the amount of the grant for which such program is eligible. Establishes an Advisory Committee on Victims of Crime to advise the Attorney General with respect to the administration of this Act and the compensation of victims of crime. Directs the Attorney General to publish a report with respect to each qualifying State program, and the activities of the Attorney General in carrying out this Act.
This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.
Timeline
8 February 1979
Introduced
Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
Source: IntroReferral
8 February 1979
Introduced
Introduced in House
Source: IntroReferral
8 February 1979
Introduced
Introduced in House
Source: IntroReferral
Votes
No vote records are attached yet.
Versions
No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.
Documents
1 official file
Introduced in House
summary · EN · 8 February 1979
Sponsors
- Rep. Holtzman, Elizabeth [D-NY-16] · D · Sponsor
- · hsju00 · Standing
Related records
No cross-record relationships stored yet.
Sources
PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.
- Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/96th-congress/house-bill/1961
- Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/96/hr/1961
- us · 96-hr-1961 · source updated 2 September 2025