Capitol Ideas

Capitol Ideas

May 27, 2003

New NCSL reports examine victims' rights, medical malpractice, unfunded mandates

Capitol Ideas is a periodic publication intended to provide state capitol journalists with the latest trends and information about the nation's state legislatures.

More Rights for Crime Victims: State legislatures have been listening to crime victims during the past five years. Across the nation, state lawmakers have approved numerous measures to broaden the rights of crime victims, according to a new State Legislative Report by NCSL Policy Specialist Sarah A. Brown. The report centers on several key areas, including:

Notification and access to information. A number of states provide automated victim notification systems and others allow victims to view offenders' files. Legislatures in some states expanded the rights of victims to testify at parole hearings.

Protection and confidentiality. At least 11 states in the past three years have enacted measures to keep victims' addresses confidential. The laws generally apply to victims of domestic violence, stalking or sexual abuse cases. States also are passing employment protection laws for these victims.

Compensation and restitution. More than half of the states make restitution a mandatory part of criminal sentences. All 50 states have established compensation programs to cover physical, psychological and monetary losses. Most states have laws prohibiting offenders from profiting from their crimes.

Read the full report at http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cj/victimslegislation.pdf.

Medical Malpractice Reform: Legislators in 30 states have considered medical malpractice reform legislation during the 2003 session, according to the most recent issue of State Health Policy Briefs, a quarterly publication by NCSL's Health Policy Tracking Service. In Arkansas, plaintiffs are now required to provide expert testimony from a doctor of the same specialty as the defendant, for example. A new Ohio law limits non-economic damages. Contact the NCSL public affairs department for instructions to access the HPTS Web site.

Unfunded Mandates Remain: The $20 billion state fiscal relief package Congress has approved will take the edge off states' financial pain for now. But it doesn't fix a deep-rooted imbalance. States are still funding billions of dollars' worth of programs the federal government has ordered, but never paid its share for. By one estimate, for example, states that want to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act must spend $7 for every $1 from Congress. By this estimate, it would cost the federal government another $35 billion annually to fully fund the act. A full list of unfunded mandates is available at this NCSL Web page: http://www.ncsl.org/standcomm/scbudg/budgmandates03.htm. For a breakdown of how much money your state could receive under the new fiscal relief package, visit this Federal Funds Information for States Web page: http://www.ffis.org/ff/sfr052303.pdf.

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