Jun. 24, 2015
HARRISBURG – Representing a victory for crime victims, today the House passed legislation with unanimous support authored by Rep. Marcy Toepel (R-Montgomery).
House Bill 758 advocates for crime victims by working to ensure that they will receive restitution.
“Failure to collect these costs strips the victim of the restorative justice they should be able to expect; it ultimately revictimizes the person harmed by the original crime,” Toepel explained. “This bill would add to the tools available to those tasked with monitoring and collecting restitution.”
House Bill 758 is the result of a bipartisan effort of the House Judiciary Committee’s Restitution Task Force to take the recommendations and draft legislation to address the weaknesses in current practice to collect court-ordered restitution.
Restitution would be elevated to second priority, behind only child support, in the event of competing orders for wage attachment.
To help victims recover their losses, House Bill 758 allows voluntary and involuntary wage attachment for restitution obligations. Automatic account withdrawal would be a convenient way to satisfy court-ordered obligations. If involuntary, the attachment must not exceed 25 percent of wages and the defendant’s financial ability to pay.
The legislation will further work to collect restitution on behalf of victims by protecting defendants from employment discrimination and maximizing their employability.
“Our crime victims cry out for justice. To ignore their pleas and the fulfillment of the sentence is unacceptable,” Toepel said.
As the bill was passed in the House today, the bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Representative Marcy Toepel
147th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Alison Evans
717.260.6206
aevans@pahousegop.com
RepToepel.com /
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