Civil Rights budget recommended up slightly; complaint investigations and IT support funded

The Appropriations Subcommittee reviewed the proposed FY2025-26 budget for the state Civil Rights agency, which the Senate Fiscal Agency said would increase gross spending by about 5.5% and general fund by about 6.1%.

Senate Fiscal Agency presenter Elizabeth said the earlier spike in funding (FY23-24) paid for additional FTEs to clear a complaints-investigation backlog, and this yearthe recommendation focuses on supporting those staff with IT and training resources.

Key details: the governor's recommendation included about $770,000 for IT adjustments (software, licenses and devices), roughly $300,000 for a new public complaint portal, and a separate $467,000 gross/$467,000 GFGP increase plus two FTEs for the executive office to support training and development on civil-rights and disability-compliance laws. The recommendation also removed a requirement that the department provide a copy of certain reports to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights within one business day and removed an annual report on a Native American Boarding School Study that the presenter said is expected to be completed this June.

Members asked about vacancy rates for newly authorized FTEs and requested a report on open positions and on case-backlog progress. When asked, Elizabeth said a vacancy report exists and she would provide the number to members. The analyst also said the department had provided information on backlog progress to the fiscal office.

Ending: no vote was taken; members asked staff for follow-up information on unfilled positions and case-status metrics before further action.