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Oklahoma Legislature· SB 1973Coauthored by Representative Newton (principal House author)

An act relating to the Oklahoma Crime Victims 7 Compensation Act, the official text

Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Oklahoma Legislature, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
1                         STATE OF OKLAHOMA

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2                  2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)

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3 SENATE BILL 1973                       By: Murdock
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6                               AS INTRODUCED

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7   An Act relating to the Oklahoma Crime Victims

7   Compensation Act; amending 21 O.S. 2021, Section

8   142.3, which relates to definitions; modifying

8   definition of allowable expense; and providing an

9   effective date.

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12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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13  SECTION 1.            AMENDATORY     21 O.S. 2021, Section 142.3, is

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14 amended to read as follows:
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15  Section 142.3. As used in the Oklahoma Crime Victims

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16 Compensation Act, Section 142.1 et seq. of this title:
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17  1. "Allowable expense" means:

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18  a. charges incurred for needed products, services and

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19                 accommodations, including, but not limited to, medical

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20                 care, wage loss, rehabilitation, rehabilitative

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21                 occupational training and other remedial treatment and

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22                 care,

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23  b. any reasonable expenses related to the funeral,

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24                 cremation or burial,

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    Req. No. 2665                                              Page 1
1   c. reasonable costs for counseling family members of a

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2                  homicide victim,

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3   d. reasonable costs associated with homicide crime scene

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4                  cleanup, and

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5   e. reasonable cost of vehicle impound fees associated

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6                  with the collection and security of crime scene

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7                  evidence, and

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8   f. educational expenses which may include, but not be

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9                  limited to, tuition and fees at a private school in

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10                 this state, tuition for a career and technology

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11                 program at a technology center school district in this

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12                 state, tuition and fees for courses at a public or

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13                 private institution of higher education in this state,

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14                 and cost of academic tutoring services provided by an

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15                 individual or a private academic tutoring facility in

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16                 this state;

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17  2. "Board" means the Crime Victims Compensation Board created

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18 by Section 142.4 of this title;
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19  3. "Claimant" means any of the following persons applying for

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20 compensation under the Crime Victims Compensation Act:
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21  a. a victim,

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22  b. a dependent of a victim who has died because of

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23                 criminally injurious conduct, or

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    Req. No. 2665                                          Page 2
1   c. a person authorized to act on behalf of any of the

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2                  persons enumerated in subparagraphs a and b of this

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3                  paragraph;

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4   4. "Collateral source" means a source of benefits or advantages

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5 for economic loss for which the claimant would otherwise be eligible
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6 to receive compensation under this act, and which the claimant has
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7 received, or which is readily available to the claimant, from any
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8 one or more of the following:
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9   a. the offender,

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10  b. the government of the United States or any agency

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11                 thereof, in the form of benefits, such as social

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12                 security, Medicare and Medicaid, a state or any of its

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13                 political subdivisions or an instrumentality or two or

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14                 more states, unless the law providing for the benefits

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15                 or advantages makes them excessive or secondary to

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16                 benefits under this act,

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17  c. state-required temporary nonoccupational disability

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18                 insurance,

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19  d. workers' compensation,

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20  e. wage continuation programs of any employer,

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21  f. a contract providing prepaid hospital and other health

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22                 care services or benefits for disability,

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23  g. a contract providing prepaid burial expenses or

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24                 benefits, or

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    Req. No. 2665                                             Page 3
1   h. proceeds of any contract of insurance payable to the

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2                  claimant for loss which the victim sustained because

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3                  of the criminally injurious conduct, except:

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4                  (1) life insurance proceeds or uninsured motorist

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5                  proceeds in an amount of Fifty Thousand Dollars

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6                  ($50,000.00) or less shall not be considered a

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7                  collateral source when computing loss of support,

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8                  and

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9                  (2) life insurance proceeds and proceeds from

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10                 personal uninsured motorist coverage of any

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11                 amount shall not be considered a collateral

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12                 source for computing burial expenses;

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13  5. a. "Criminally injurious conduct" means a misdemeanor or

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14                 felony which occurs or is attempted in this state, or

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15                 against a resident of this state in a state that does

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16                 not have an eligible crime victims compensation

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17                 program as such term is defined in the federal Victims

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18                 of Crime Act of 1984, Public Law 98-473, that results

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19                 in bodily injury, threat of bodily injury or death to

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20                 a victim which:

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21                 (1) may be punishable by fine, imprisonment or death,

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22                 or

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    Req. No. 2665                                                Page 4
1                  (2) if the act is committed by a child, could result

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2                  in such child being adjudicated a delinquent

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3                  child.

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4   b. Such term shall not include acts arising out of the

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5                  negligent maintenance or use of a motor vehicle

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6                  unless:

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7                  (1) the vehicle was operated or driven by the

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8                  offender while under the influence of alcohol,

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9                  with a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal

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10                 limit, or while under the influence of any other

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11                 intoxicating substance,

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12                 (2) the vehicle was operated or driven by the

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13                 offender with the intent to injure or kill the

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14                 victim or in a manner imminently dangerous to

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15                 another person and evincing a depraved mind,

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16                 although without any premeditated design to

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17                 injure or effect the death of any particular

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18                 person,

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19                 (3) the offense involved willful, malicious or

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20                 felonious failure to stop after being involved in

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21                 a personal injury accident to avoid detection or

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22                 prosecution, provided the victim of the accident

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23                 was a pedestrian or was operating a vehicle moved

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    Req. No. 2665                           Page 5
1                  solely by human power or a mobility device at the

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2                  time of contact, or

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3                  (4) the offense involving one or more vehicles

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4                  results in the death of the victim due to the

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5                  reckless disregard for the safety of others by

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6                  the offender. As used in this division,

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7                  "reckless disregard for the safety of others" is

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8                  defined as the omission to do something which a

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9                  reasonably careful person would do, or the lack

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10                 of the usual and ordinary care and caution in the

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11                 performance of an act usually and ordinarily

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12                 exercised by a person under similar circumstances

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13                 and conditions.

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14  c. "Criminally injurious conduct" shall include an act of

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15                 terrorism, as defined in Section 2331 of Title 18,

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16                 United States Code, committed outside the United

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17                 States;

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18  6. "Dependent" means a natural person wholly or partially

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19 dependent upon the victim for care or support, and includes a child
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20 of the victim born after the death of the victim where the death
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21 occurred as a result of criminally injurious conduct;
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22  7. "Economic loss of a dependent" means loss after death of the

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23 victim of contributions of things of economic value to the
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    Req. No. 2665                                              Page 6
1 dependent, not including services which would have been received
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2 from the victim if he or she had not suffered the fatal injury;
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3   8. "Replacement services loss of dependent" means the loss

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4 reasonably incurred by dependents after death of the victim in
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5 obtaining ordinary and necessary services in lieu of those the
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6 deceased victim would have performed for their benefit had the
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7 deceased victim not suffered the fatal injury, less expenses of the
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8 dependent avoided by reason of death of the victim and not
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9 subtracted in calculating the economic loss of the dependent;
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10  9. "Economic loss" means monetary detriment consisting only of

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11 allowable expense, work loss, replacement services loss and, if
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12 injury causes death, economic loss and replacement services loss of
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13 a dependent, but shall not include noneconomic loss;
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14  10. "Noneconomic detriment" means pain, suffering,

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15 inconvenience, physical impairment and nonpecuniary damage;
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16  11. "Replacement services loss" means expenses reasonably

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17 incurred in obtaining ordinary and necessary services in lieu of
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18 those the victim would have performed, not for income, but for the
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19 benefit of self or family, if the victim had not been injured or
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20 died;
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21  12. "Traffic offense" means violation of a law relating to the

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22 operation of vehicles, but shall not mean negligent homicide due to
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23 operation of a motor vehicle, reckless driving, tampering with or
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24 damaging a motor vehicle, failure of a driver of a motor vehicle
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    Req. No. 2665                                               Page 7
1 involved in an accident resulting in death or personal injury to
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2 stop at the scene of the accident, leaving the scene of an accident
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3 resulting in death or personal injury, operating or being in actual
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4 physical control of a motor vehicle while intoxicated or impaired
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5 due to alcohol or other intoxicating substance, or combination
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6 thereof, or operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content
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7 in excess of the legal limit;
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8   13. "Work loss for victim" means loss of income from work the

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9 victim would have performed if such person had not been injured or
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10 died, reduced by any income from substitute work actually performed
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11 by the victim or by income the victim would have earned in available
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12 appropriate substitute work that the victim was capable of
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13 performing but unreasonably failed to undertake, or loss of income
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14 from work the victim's caregiver would have performed if the
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15 injuries of the victim sustained as a result of the criminally
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16 injurious conduct had not created the need for the caregiver to miss
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17 work to care for the injured victim; and
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18  14. "Victim" means a person who suffers personal injury or

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19 death as a result of criminally injurious conduct and shall include
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20 a resident of this state who is injured or killed by an act of
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21 terrorism committed outside of the United States.
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22  SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.

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24  60-2-2665      TEK  1/15/2026 9:20:30 AM

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    Req. No. 2665                                              Page 8
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