Senate committee advances plan to create special fund to back crime‑victim services amid VOCA shortfalls

Saint Paul — The Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, took up Senate File 852, a bill that would create a special revenue account to support crime‑victim services in Minnesota and identify new state revenue sources to replace dwindling federal grants.

The proposal, introduced for consideration by Senator Umu Verbentin, received an author’s "A5" delete‑all amendment and a later technical fix to an allocation line. After testimony from statewide victim‑service advocates and organizational leaders, the committee adopted the amendments by voice vote and laid the bill over for possible inclusion in the policy and budget bill.

Advocates said the change is urgent because federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding has dropped dramatically since its 2018 peak. "Federal crime victim services funding has been trending towards an all time low," said Bobbie Holtberg, executive director of the Minnesota Alliance on Crime, pointing to federal VOCA levels that advocates told the committee fell from about $58,000,000 in 2018 to a projected $7,000,000 this year. Holtberg said Minnesota would need substantial one‑time and ongoing state funding to prevent program closures.

The bill’s sponsor and testifiers described a proposal that would pull revenue from multiple sources, including a proposed increase in civil marriage license fees and newly established penalty assessments on corporations convicted of crimes. "We're trying to be creative and find sources of revenue anywhere we can," Senator Umu Verbentin said as she described the framework as a step toward a state‑level VOCA to stabilize services.

Local providers told the committee what is at stake if funds are not replaced. "This bill will speak directly to providing services to those who are underserved," said Sarah Kern, executive director of Hope Coalition, which operates the only domestic violence shelter within an hour of parts of Goodhue and Wabasha Counties. Kern described barriers rural survivors face — lack of public transportation, near‑zero rental vacancy rates and previously missing forensic medical services — and said her organization recently opened a forensic exam room in Red Wing to help fill that gap.

Sarah Engelhoff, director of Advocacy and Innovation at the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, said victim services also yield public‑safety benefits by encouraging reporting and supporting law enforcement investigations. "Crime victim services play a vital role in helping survivors and their families rebuild their lives by ensuring they're heard, protected, and supported," she said.

Molly Montague of RAINN, the national sexual‑assault hotline operator, told senators she was not seeking state funds for her organization but urged approval on behalf of local providers who depend on those services. "I'm here to stand beside Minnesota's victim service providers and urge you to pass this bill so that they can continue to do the hugely impactful work that they do," Montague said.

Committee members asked detailed questions about the bill’s revenue mechanics and legal implications. Senator Limmer pressed sponsors on a provision that would make certain penalty assessments mandatory for convicted corporations and observed that such language could raise separation‑of‑powers concerns by directing judicial sentencing outcomes. "I would imagine that this might border on a separation of powers argument," Limmer said, asking how enforcement would work and whether the proposal could withstand constitutional challenge. The sponsor replied that the approach mirrors programs in other states and that conversations with the administration and stakeholders are ongoing.

The committee also approved a technical amendment to correct a misreference in the text and to ensure the increase in a premarital education allocation reflected the earlier fee change. Committee staff member Mr. Turner described the change: the bill increased the civil marriage license fee to $50 in one section but left an allocation line at $40; the amendment updates the allocation to $50.

Formal actions recorded in committee were the adoption of the author's "A5" amendment, adoption of the technical correction described by Mr. Turner, and laying Senate File 852 over for possible inclusion in the omnibus policy and budget bill. The amendments were adopted by voice vote; no recorded roll‑call tally was taken in committee.

Why it matters: Providers across Minnesota say VOCA cuts have forced layoffs, program reductions and threatened shelter closures. Advocates told the committee the state faces a choice between significant one‑time infusions to maintain current services and a longer‑term revenue structure to stabilize victim services statewide. The bill remains under committee consideration and will return for further work as lawmakers and the administration refine revenue options and legal language.

What’s next: Committee staff and the bill sponsor said they will continue coordinating with the administration, advocates and other authors on fee‑change language and related proposals. Senate File 852 is laid over for possible inclusion in the policy and budget package; no final funding decision was made at the March 5 hearing.