Senate Finance panel approves Finance and Administration budget, hears plan for violent‑crime grants and tech upgrades

The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee approved the Department of Finance and Administration’s FY 2026 budget in an 11‑0 roll‑call vote after hearing department officials outline grant spending, violent‑crime intervention funding and a multi‑year technology plan.

The budget presentation focused on three priorities: continued grant support and administration for local law enforcement through the Violent Crime Intervention Fund (VCIF) and related grant programs run by the Office of Criminal Justice Programs (OCJP); expansion of the Victim Information Notification System (VINE) into additional counties; and investments in department technology including a proposed $40 million nonrecurring appropriation to relocate the North Data Center, a $5 million start for enterprise resource planning evaluation, $5 million for ADA compliance, and security enhancements.

“My name is Jim Bridal, and I’m the commissioner of finance and administration,” Commissioner Jim Bridal told the committee as he and senior…