(a) Fund established.
(1) There is a Partnership Fund for victims of hate/violence.
(2) The Fund is created to compensate victims of hate/violence for personal injury and property damage caused by the hate/violence incident.
(3) The Commission on Human Rights must define what conduct is an act of hate/violence.
(4) The County Executive must designate a subcommittee of the Committee on Hate/Violence to administer the Partnership Fund. In this Section, subcommittee refers to this subcommittee.
(b) Contributions.
(1) The subcommittee should solicit and deposit private contributions to the Fund. The subcommittee may spend up to 10 percent of the Fund to publicize the Fund and solicit private contributions.
(2) The County must contribute $25,000 per year to the Fund to the extent that funds are appropriated.
(3) The County government must also contribute $2 for every $1 of private contributions to the Fund, up to an additional $30,000 per a year, to the extent that funds are appropriated.
(c) Victim compensation.
(1) The subcommittee may pay a victim of hate/violence up to $2,000 from the Fund for each incident of hate/violence to compensate the victim for property damage caused by the hate/violence incident.
(2) The subcommittee may pay a victim of hate/violence up to $4,000 from the Fund for each incident of hate/violence to compensate the victim for personal injuries caused by the hate/violence incident. Personal injury awards must be limited to actual damages for medical expenses, psychological services, or lost wages. Lost wages must be based solely on employment income and must be calculated based on an individual’s gross average weekly wage immediately before the incident of hate/violence.
(3) A victim of hate/violence may not receive more than $8,000 from the Fund in any 12-month period.
(d) Police report. A police report, filed over the telephone or in person to an appropriate law enforcement agency within 7 days after an act of hate/violence occurred or was discovered, must be submitted with all claims. The subcomittee may waive this requirement if an individual had good cause for not filing a police report.
(e) Reduction of compensation. The subcommittee must reduce any payment from the Fund by any amount the victim receives or is entitled to receive from any private or public source as compensation for damages from the hate/violence incident. The Fund may pay for lost wages only to the extent that compensation is not available from an employer for vacation, sick, or any other type of leave, insurance, the State victim compensation program, the County victim assistance program, or any other source arising from the same incident.
(f) False claims. Any person who makes a false claim under this Section:
(1) commits a Class A violation; and
(2) must reimburse the Fund for any payments received under this Section.
(g) Regulations. The County Executive may adopt regulations to implement this Section under method (2). (1987 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 1; FY 1991 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 1; FY 1991 L.M.C., ch 9, § 1; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1; 2002 L.M.C., ch 30, § 1; 2005 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 1.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated 12/21/00 indicating that the Human Relations Commission cannot award attorney’s fees to a complainant until the panel holds a hearing on the complaint and makes a finding that the respondent violated Chapter 27.
2005 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 2, states: Transition - Committee on Hate/Violence. Until January 1, 2009, the members of the subcommittee of the Committee on Hate/Violence designated to administer the Partnership Fund under Section 27-26(a)(4), as amended by Section 1, need not be members of the Committee on Hate/Violence.
Section 27-26, formerly § 27-26F, was renumbered and amended pursuant to 2001 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.
Former Section 27-26, relating to standards of proof, under division 3, discrimination in employment, derived from 1972 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 1; 1977 L.M.C., ch. 30, § 11; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 26, § 17, was repealed by 2001 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.
Former Section 27-26B, relating to statutory civil liability, derived from 1983 L.M.C., ch. 26, § 1; 1990 L.M.C., ch. 31, § 1, was repealed by 2001 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.