Witnesses urge lawmakers to limit restitution to natural‑person victims

The Senate Judiciary Committee on March 9 voted 5–2 to advance House Bill 1017 to the Committee of the Whole after hearing testimony from people who said current restitution practice leaves victims unrepaired while saddling defendants with unpayable debts.

A witness who said he was ordered to pay $298,000 described how roughly $293,000 of that amount went to insurance companies and agencies rather than to the natural-person victims. "When restitution stops making victims whole and becomes a permanent, unpayable debt, it is no longer restitution," the witness (speaker 22) told the committee.

Sponsor remarks explained the bill was rewritten in the House to narrow restitution to cases where payments should reasonably make natural-person victims whole, addressing examples where insurance payout or agency compensation already satisfied victims’ losses. Supporters included criminal-justice reform advocates who said the bill would prevent restitution orders from functioning as long-term institutional collections that undermine reentry and rehabilitation.

The committee advanced HB1017 with a favorable recommendation to the Committee of the Whole. The measure will now be considered on the Senate floor.