Bill Summaries: S 421 EUGENICS COMPENSATION PROGRAM.

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  • Summary date: Mar 26 2013 - View Summary

    Adds new Part 30, Eugenics Asexualization and Sterilization Compensation Program, to Article 9 in GS Chapter 143B, to give a lump sum of $50,000 in compensation to every qualified recipient. Defines qualified recipient as an individual asexualized or sterilized by the Eugenics Board of North Carolina, who was living on March 16, 2012. Allows individuals to submit a claim for compensation on or before December 31, 2015, and authorizes a personal representative to submit a claim for an individual who died on or after March 16, 2012. Sets out the procedure for the NC Industrial Commission to determine whether individuals are qualified recipients and provides the right to appeal; however, decisions favorable to the claimant are final and not subject to appeal by the state. Directs the Industrial Commission to use $184,000 of  funds appropriated to the Eugenics Reserve Fund to administer this provision. Creates the Office of Justice for Sterilization Victims in the Department of Administration (DOA) to assist individuals who may be qualified recipients, and directs DOA to use $654,000 of the funds appropriated to the Eugenics Reserve Fund to cover expenses.
    Makes all records received or submitted under Part 30 confidential. Makes conforming changes to GS 132-1.23, and allows release of minutes or reports from the Eugenics Board if identifying information is redacted. Exempts payments of compensation from income taxation, and specifies that the payments are not considered income or assets for purposes of determining eligibility for public assistance. Makes conforming changes to GS 105-134.6(b) (effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013), and by enacting GS 108A-26.1. Prohibits the extension of any statute of limitations that expired before July 1, 2013, and limits the state's liability to the compensation amount.
    Establishes the Eugenics Sterilization Compensation Fund in the Office of the State Treasurer to pay the compensation under Part 30, and appropriates $5 million for 2013-14 from the General Fund to the Eugenics Reserve Fund. $4 million of the funds is to be transferred to the Fund with the remaining allocated to (1) the Industrial Commission as mentioned above, (2) the Department of Administration as mentioned above, and (3) $57,000 transferred to the Department of Cultural Resources for the electronic scanning and indexing of documents, and (4) $155,000 transferred to the Department of Administration for the creation and maintenance of a database. Effective when the act becomes law, directs the Department of Health and Human Services to submit specified state plan amendments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by July 1, 2013, to allow for income disregard of the compensation payments. Directs the Department of Cultural Resources to electronically scan and index records and minutes of the Eugenics Board and requires DOA to create an electronic database of the information. Effective July 1, 2013, unless otherwise indicated. With the exception of the changes to GS 405-134.6(b), new GS 108A-26.1, and the provisions of GS 132-1.23 that concern the protection of confidential and identifying information, the act expires on June 30, 2016.