SECTION 66A. Victims of Human Trafficking Trust Fund

There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Victims of Human Trafficking Trust Fund. The fund shall consist of proceeds of assets seized and forfeited pursuant to sections 55 and 56 of chapter 265 and fines and assessments collected pursuant to sections 50, 51 and 54 of said chapter 265 and section 107 of chapter 272, together with any interest or earnings accrued on such monies through investment or deposit. The state treasurer shall be the custodian of the fund and shall receive, deposit and invest all monies transmitted to him under this section in accordance with sections 34 and 38 of chapter 29 in such a manner as to secure the highest rate of return available consistent with the safety of the fund, and shall credit interest and earnings on the trust fund corpus to the trust fund. The state treasurer shall transfer funds from the income and receipts of the fund to the victim and witness assistance board, as established in section 4 of chapter 258B, from time to time, at the request of the board. The board shall award and administer grants from the fund, without further appropriation, to public, private non-profit or community-based programs in the commonwealth to provide services to victims of offenses under said sections 50 and 51 of said chapter 265.

The board shall file a report detailing the amount of funds collected and expended from the fund, along with a copy of the written criteria used to expend the funds, to the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than August 15 of each calendar year. Administrative and operational expenses directly attributable to the grants and programs funded by the fund including, but not limited to, the costs of clerical and support personnel, shall not exceed 5 per cent of the total assets of the fund in any 1 fiscal year. Any unexpended balance of monies in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund but shall remain available for expenditure from such fund in subsequent fiscal years. No expenditure made from the fund shall cause the fund to become deficient at any point during a fiscal year.