52:4B-3.2 Victims of Crime Compensation Office.
2. a. There is hereby established in the Department of Law and Public Safety the Victims of Crime Compensation Office.
b. The chief executive officer of the Victims of Crime Compensation Office shall be the director, who shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The director shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Governor may appoint an acting director to serve as chief executive officer of the Victims of Crime Compensation Office, who may be the person serving as chairman of the Victims of Crime Compensation Board on the effective date of P.L.2007, c.95 (C.52:4B-3.2 et al.), and who shall serve as the director of the Victims of Crime Compensation Office until a successor is appointed and qualifies. The director shall, in consultation with the Review Board established pursuant to subsection c. of this section, develop, establish and supervise all practices and procedures of the office.
c. There is hereby established in the Victims of Crime Compensation Office the Victims of Crime Compensation Review Board which shall be composed of five citizens, to be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, one of whom shall be designated chairman by, and serve as such at the pleasure of, the Governor. Three members of the board shall, by training or experience, have expertise in the rights of crime victims. One member of the board shall have direct knowledge or experience related to the trauma of criminal victimization and one member shall be an attorney admitted to the practice of law in the State of New Jersey and who shall have practiced law in the courts of New Jersey for a minimum of five years. The purpose of the Victims of Crime Compensation Review Board shall be:
(1) to hear appeals of decisions of the Victims of Crime Compensation Office involving issues of victim compensation;
(2) to consult with the director in developing, establishing and supervising all practices and procedures of the office;
(3) to review individual and supplemental awards to a victim or a victim's family in excess of $10,000 in the aggregate, and awards of attorney fees for legal representation to victims;
(4) to review, on at least a bi-monthly basis, information detailing the aggregate claims received and paid by the office, and the operations of the office; and
(5) to review and, if appropriate, approve any rules and regulations, standards, and maximum rates and service limitations for reimbursement proposed by the office.
d. All the functions of the Violent Crimes Compensation Board and the Victims of Crime Compensation Board are continued in the Victims of Crime Compensation Office and the Victims of Crime Compensation Review Board. Whenever in any law, rule, regulation, judicial or administrative procedure or otherwise, reference is made to the Violent Crimes Compensation Board or to the Victims of Crime Compensation Board, the same shall mean and refer to the Victims of Crime Compensation Office or the Victims of Crime Compensation Review Board, as the case may be.
L.2007, c.95, s.2; amended 2019, c.502.