Protection & Advocacy (P&A) officials told the Legislative interim committee they face uncertainty after a proposed federal budget that would sharply cut or eliminate several P&A grant programs.

Veronica, Protection and Advocacy staff, briefed lawmakers on the agency's nine federal programs serving people with intellectual/developmental disabilities, serious mental illness, assistive technology, and other categories. She said roughly $1.7 million in federal awards were recorded for 2025 and that the agency uses state general fund appropriations to supplement federal programs.

Veronica flagged President Trump's proposed FY2026 budget as identifying several P&A programs for elimination or reduction; Congressional appropriations subcommittees recently restored funding to base levels but no floor votes had been taken at the time of the presentation. She said the agency is planning under a level-funding assumption while conducting contingency planning. "We are doing some contingency planning at this point," Veronica said, noting the agency operates on reimbursement and has begun holding hiring until federal certainty is known.

Why it matters: P&A provides protective services, abuse/neglect investigations, representative-payee reviews, assistive-technology advocacy, voting-access work and legal representation for eligible people with disabilities. Veronica told the committee that if deep federal cuts occur, services that protect vulnerable residents could be reduced.

Finances and carryover: Veronica said the agency had about $1 million in federal carryover but that federal authorities were signaling possible "clawbacks" of unobligated carryover funds. The agency also reported it had not carried over state funds from the prior biennium and that state general-fund support in the current biennium totaled about $3.8 million. Veronica said the agency had several recent staff resignations and had held hiring while uncertainty remained about federal funding.

Next steps: P&A said it is developing a lean budget to preserve core services if federal funds are cut and that it is in regular contact with the state's federal delegation. Veronica told lawmakers the agency would return with further updates as federal appropriations become final.

Quote: "We are just doing the best we can to try and delve into those things and make responsible decisions for our agency," Veronica said of contingency planning.