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Poochigian Presents Bill to Ensure Genocide Life Ins. Settlements

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  • Poochigian Presents Bill to Ensure Genocide Life Ins. Settlements

    Poochigian Presents Bill to Ensure Armenian Genocide Life Insurance
    Settlements Reach Victims' Families
    Published on Thursday, April 22, 2004

    April 21, 2004

    SACRAMENTO - Senator Chuck Poochigian (R-Fresno) has introduced Senate Bill
    1689 to exempt Armenian Genocide life insurance settlements from state
    taxation and other calculations related to income. The bill passed out of
    the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee today o­n a 5-0 vote.

    If ultimately approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor
    Schwarzenegger, recipients of settlement payments would not have their state
    income tax, financial aid or unemployment benefits negatively impacted by
    their receipt of such settlements. The bill's language mirrors exemptions
    similarly afforded recipients of reparations and other legal
    settlements related to the Holocaust.

    "Survivors and heirs of victims of the Armenian Genocide have waited many
    decades to resolve their claims. Correcting a past wrong should not have the
    unintended consequence of financially harming the victims and their heirs
    now," said Senator Poochigian.

    The Armenian Genocide-the First Genocide of the 21st Century-was marked by
    unspeakable crimes against humanity. 1.5 million Armenians were subjected to
    forced marches into the desert, torture, mayhem and murder. Thousands of
    innocent children were orphaned. Those who escaped left behind all their
    worldly possessions and emigrated to other nations.

    Prior to 1915, the New York Life Insurance Company wrote over 2,000
    insurance policies to Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Many of these
    policies were written for individuals who became victims of the Armenian
    Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Heirs o­n the policies later
    sued for the value of the policies. In 2004, New York Life settled with
    claimants resulting in a settlement of $20 million. A significant portion of
    the
    settlement will go to settle claims with heirs o­n the policies.

    Senate Bill 1689 is modeled after Senate Bill 1397 (Brulte) and Assembly
    Bill 989 (Chan) which exempted Swiss bank claim settlements and restitution
    payment made to victims of the Holocaust.

    Senate Bill 1689 reflects Senator Poochigian's o­ngoing effort to affirm the
    historical fact of the Armenian Genocide, promote the cause of justice for
    victims, and guard against recurrence of such acts. In 2000, Senator
    Poochigian authored Senate Bill 1915 which enabled victims and heirs of
    victims of the Armenian Genocide to access the California court system to
    compel insurance companies to pay insurance claims owed to victims of the
    Genocide. That bill received the unanimous approval of the Legislature and
    provided the opportunity to pursue contractual claims pertaining to the
    recent settlement.

    SB 1689 is expected to be heard next in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
    No hearing date has been set.

    ####


    Senator Poochigian's website can be found by visiting:
    http://republican.sen.ca.gov/web/14 .
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