AN ACT ESTABLISHING A VICTIMS OF DRUNK DRIVING TRUST FUND.
Whereas , The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to establish forthwith a victims of drunk driving trust fund, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 10 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 66. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Victims of Drunk Driving Trust Fund. The fund shall consist of monies paid to the courts pursuant to the third paragraph of subparagraph (1) of paragraph (a) of subdivision (1) of section 24 of chapter 90, together with any interest or earnings accrued on such monies through investment or deposit. The state treasurer shall be the custodian of the fund and shall receive, deposit and invest all monies transmitted to him under this section in accordance with sections 34, 34A and 38 of chapter 29 in such a manner as to secure the highest rate of return available consistent with the safety of the fund, and shall credit interest and earnings on the trust fund corpus to the trust fund. The state treasurer shall transfer funds from the income and receipts of the fund to the victim and witness assistance board, as established in section 4 of chapter 258B, from time to time, at the request of the board. The board shall award and administer grants from the fund, without further appropriation, to community-based programs in the commonwealth to provide counseling and support services to victims of accidents caused by persons driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The board shall develop, in conjunction with the department of public health's bureau of substance abuse and the Massachusetts chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, written criteria for the awarding of those grants, which shall be evaluated and, if necessary, revised on an annual basis. For the purposes of this section, the word "victim" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 1 of said chapter 258B.
The board shall file a report detailing the amount of funds collected and expended from the fund along with a copy of the written criteria used to expend the funds to the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than August 15 of each calendar year. An amount not to exceed 5 per cent of the total funds deposited in the fund may be expended by the board for administrative costs directly attributable to the grants and programs funded by the fund, including, but not limited to, the costs of clerical and support personnel. Any unexpended balance of monies in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund but shall remain available for expenditure from such fund in subsequent fiscal years. No expenditure made from the fund shall cause the fund to become deficient at any point during a fiscal year.
SECTION 2. Subparagraph (1) of paragraph (a) of subdivision (1) of section 24 of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the second paragraph the following paragraph:-
There shall be an assessment of $50 against a person who is convicted, placed on probation or granted a continuance without a finding or who otherwise pleads guilty to or admits to a finding of sufficient facts for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or under the influence of marihuana, narcotic drugs, depressants or stimulant substances, all as defined by section 1 of chapter 94C, pursuant to this section or section 24D or 24E or subsection (a) or (b) of section 24G or section 24L. The assessment shall not be subject to waiver by the court for any reason. If a person against whom a fine is assessed is sentenced to a correctional facility and the assessment has not been paid, the court shall note the assessment on the mittimus. The monies collected pursuant to the fees established by this paragraph shall be transmitted monthly by the courts to the state treasurer who shall then deposit, invest and transfer the monies, from time to time, into the Victims of Drunk Driving Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 10. The monies shall then be administered, pursuant to said section 66 of said chapter 10, by the victim and witness assistance board for the purposes set forth in said section 66. Fees paid by an individual into the Victims of Drunk Driving Trust Fund pursuant to this section shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other fee imposed by the court pursuant to this chapter or any other chapter. The administrative office of the trial court shall file a report detailing the amount of funds imposed and collected pursuant to this section to the house and senate committees on ways and means and to the victim and witness assistance board not later than August 15 of each calendar year.