Substitute Senate Bill No. 36 - Summary

• Amends Ohio's crime victim reparations program by creating three categories of eligible victims with different residency and compensation requirements.

• Expands eligibility to include immediate family members of homicide, sexual assault, domestic violence, or severe injury victims who require psychiatric care or counseling, with compensation capped at $2,500 per family member and $7,500 aggregate.

• Allows certain previously denied claims to be reapplied for within three years, and permits claims by minors until age 24 (instead of age 21), with exceptions allowing awards "for good cause shown" at any time.

• Adds new victim categories for family members witnessing homicides or severe injuries and caretakers of sexual assault victims, with psychiatric care as compensable expense limited to work loss for one category.

• Eliminates consideration of contributory misconduct by deceased victims when determining reparations eligibility, and removes burden of proof shift for victims with prior felony convictions; maintains maximum reparations amounts of $50,000 for general victims, $5,000 for immediate family of serious crime victims, and $15,000 for severely traumatized family members.