Senators back referral of voluntary tax checkoff to bolster crime-victim services

ST. PAUL — Lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted March 11 to recommend that a bill creating a voluntary tax checkoff for donations to the Minnesota Victims of Crime Account advance to the Senate Taxes Committee.

Senator Lott introduced Senate File 38 05 as a mechanism to allow taxpayers to make voluntary, tax-deductible contributions directly into the state’s victims account, modeled in part on other voluntary checkoff programs.

“Katie Kramer, co-executive director of Violence Free Minnesota, told the committee the bill would help stabilize funding. “We’ve now learned from the Office of Justice Programs that federal crime victim services funding will see a $12 million cut in our next fiscal year,” Kramer said, warning that a funding shortfall could force reductions in services.

Kramer and Victoria Pickering of the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault urged lawmakers that statewide victim-service providers are already stretched. Kramer cited examples submitted in provider letters, including a Dakota County shelter that housed 231 people last year and programs that served thousands of survivors statewide.

Committee members moved and approved the bill’s referral to the Senate Taxes Committee by voice vote. Witnesses said they would provide additional data to the committee about federal funding trends and service impacts.

The bill’s authors characterized the checkoff as voluntary and designed to diversify revenue streams for the Minnesota Victims of Crime Account rather than replace existing funding.