Attorney general seeks funds for hate-crime property compensation and human-trafficking victim services in SB 62

The Senate Finance Committee heard Senate Bill 62, a package of small appropriations and program changes the attorney general's office says would expand support for victims of crime, including a new limited victims-of-crime property remediation fund for hate-crime victims and money to support victim-witness advocates and human-trafficking services.

Teresa Benitez Thompson, deputy with the Office of the Attorney General, described three separate requests in section 5 of the bill. The first would add $30,000 per year to the state victims compensation program for property damage caused by hate crimes, allowing up to $1,000 in remediation per incident. She said the request followed outreach conducted at a "peace officer and faith forum" and the AG's office had set up a hate crime hotline that receives about four to six calls per week.

The second request would provide continuing funding for victim-witness advocates in the AG's office to maintain compliance with Marsy's Law and to provide services parallel to those offered by local prosecutors' victim-witness units. The AG's office said it had already hired two victim-witness advocates with federal grant staff funding and now seeks a small ongoing pot to support their work.

The third item addresses human-trafficking victim services. Benitez Thompson said advocates proposed reducing the original ask from $1 million to $200,000 per year; the AG's office supported the reduced figure. Marco Rauda of the Nevada Policy Council on Human Trafficking told the committee $200,000 "will go a long way" to help victims and thanked the AG's office and the committee for considering the smaller request.

When senators asked about counts and likely usage of the hate-crime remediation fund, Benitez Thompson said the office lacked precise incident counts tied to property damage. She noted that state crime statistics show roughly 80 hate-crime enhancement charges a year but that figure does not specify whether a property-damage enhancement applied. On calls to the AG's newly created hotline, she said staff receive several calls weekly seeking resources, and that nationwide hate incident reporting has trended upward in recent years.

Senator Titus asked whether a Department of Justice grant the office had received could cover the proposed expenses; Benitez Thompson said the grant mainly funds staff time to operate the hotline, not remediation payments.

The committee closed the hearing on SB 62 after public supporters and neutral witnesses testified. Supporters included the Nevada Policy Council on Human Trafficking and other advocates; neutral or technical clarifications were provided by agency staff. No committee roll-call vote occurred during the hearing.