H947 - Eugenics Compensation Program Summary

• Establishes the Eugenics Asexualization and Sterilization Compensation Program to provide lump-sum compensation of $50,000 to individuals sterilized or asexualized by North Carolina's Eugenics Board between 1933 and 1974 who were living on May 16, 2012.

• Creates the Office of Justice for Sterilization Victims within the Department of Administration to assist claimants in determining eligibility, filing claims, and representing them before the Industrial Commission.

• Sets December 31, 2015 as the deadline for filing compensation claims with the North Carolina Industrial Commission, which will determine eligibility using a preponderance of evidence standard.

• Exempts compensation payments from state and federal income taxation and excludes them from income/resource calculations for determining eligibility for state and federal public assistance programs.

• Appropriates $10,000,000 from the Eugenics Reserve Fund for compensation payments, plus $184,000 for Industrial Commission administration, $654,000 for the Office of Justice operations, and $212,000 for document digitization and database creation.