Witnesses urge lawmakers to add $12 million to Minnesota victims of crime account in HF1082

The House Public Safety Finance Committee heard testimony urging lawmakers to add $12 million to the Minnesota Victims of Crime account through House File 1082’s DE6 amendment to stabilize victim-services programs statewide.

Katie Kramer, co-executive director of Violence Free Minnesota, which represents more than 90 member organizations, told the committee the funding is needed to prevent program closures and service cutbacks. “We are asking to maintain what already exists, to keep shelter doors open, to keep advocates in their roles,” Kramer said, adding that programs across the state are operating beyond capacity and that a 20% reduction would force shelters to turn survivors away.

Tina Bronson, co-executive director of Alexandra House in Anoka County, illustrated the impact with a client story: a survivor who fled long-term abuse and relied on shelter-based advocacy for housing, legal protection and stability. Bronson said flat state funding since 2018 combined with inflation has reduced purchasing power and forced staff reductions; for Alexandra House she warned a 20% cut — roughly $360,000 for that agency — would eliminate multiple positions and critical services. “Crime victim services are not optional. They’re a critical part of our public safety systems,” Bronson said.

Representative Carter asked whether the $12,000,000 in DE6 is a one-time payment and how it would be distributed. Kim Beibine, executive director of the Office of Justice Programs at the Department of Public Safety, said the $12 million would be one-time funding added to existing state and federal dollars and would be distributed through the office’s established competitive grants process, which she said is already open. “It would add instead of having a total of this much money, it would give us about the same amount of funding that we’ve had in previous years,” Beibine said.

Committee leaders framed the $12 million as a minimum stabilizing amount rather than a permanent funding solution and urged members to visit local providers to see the services in person. The transcript records a chair’s statement that no official action would be taken that day and that staff would walk through the DE6 language; a motion to lay over HF1082 was made but no formal vote or final disposition is recorded in the transcript.

The committee’s staff presentation accompanying DE6 shows the $12,000,000 transfer to the Minnesota Victims of Crime account and lists the DE6 biennial total that includes other public-safety items, but the committee did not complete action on the amendment during the recorded discussion. The committee will have additional time for comment in subsequent meetings.