House committee advances bipartisan public-safety trust fund bills after hours of testimony

Lansing — The Michigan House Committee on Government Operations on Monday advanced a bipartisan package to create a Public Safety and Violence Prevention Trust Fund, voting to adopt substitute language and report House Bills 4260 and 4261 out of committee after more than an hour of testimony from law enforcement, county and community groups.

The bills, sponsored by Representative Kristina Harris and Representative Sam Farhat, would deposit $115 million a year from sales-tax revenue into a dedicated fund to support local public-safety investments, community violence intervention (CVI) programs and crime victim services, proponents said.

Supporters told the committee the fund is designed to be predictable and flexible for local leaders. "These bills create a public safety and violence prevention trust fund. A dedicated and an accountable investment in public safety, community violence intervention, and victim support," Representative Kristina Harris said in her opening remarks. Representative Sam Farhat said the package would direct $75 million to cities, villages and townships, devote 2 percent for a statewide CVI grant program, reserve 2 percent for crime victims, and allocate $40 million to county sheriffs based on department size.

Why it matters: Sponsors and witnesses said the funding will sustain programs that they say have reduced shootings and homicides in parts of Michigan and provide ongoing victim services. Chief Todd Bettison of the Detroit Police Department told the committee the city’s Shot Stoppers CVI program helped reduce Detroit’s recorded homicides to 203 last year — a roughly 45 percent drop from prior levels — and said federal startup grants will expire in 2025. "The funding ... is going to allow the city of Detroit to continue its CVI program," Bettison told the committee, adding that stable funds would also allow Detroit to hire about 45 additional officers.

What supporters said: Testimony included law-enforcement leaders and community groups who described CVI work as relationship-driven conflict mediation that can prevent shootings. "We reduced violence in our catchment area ... by up to 70 percent," Duane O. Kennedy, executive director of Force Detroit, said of his organization’s CVI efforts. Priscilla Bordeo of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, speaking as a victim and an advocate, said the fund would expand victim services, trauma-informed training and multilingual outreach.

Distribution and accountability: Sponsors described a formula that distributes the $75 million pot to local units of government based on each jurisdiction’s share of violent crime, with a 25 percent cap on any single municipality’s share. They said the formula also includes performance incentives: communities that reduce violent crime would be rewarded with continued or increased funding, while jurisdictions that fail to reduce violence could lose funds. Representative Farhat said the package includes measures to hold grantees accountable and noted the bills were materially similar to a version that previously moved through the House last session.

County concerns and sheriff allocation: Dina Bosworth, director of governmental affairs for the Michigan Association of Counties, said the substitute language in committee changed eligibility from counties to county sheriff offices and urged more flexibility, noting counties also fund courts, treatment courts and mental-health services that contribute to public safety. Proponents said the bills explicitly include sheriffs and that the $40 million allocation is meant to recognize county-level responses that supplement municipal policing.

Budget and timing: Representative Harris and other witnesses said $75 million for the fund was included in last year’s House budget but that passage of the bills is needed to release and direct the money. Sponsors said they would work to find the additional $40 million for sheriffs in the current budget process.

Local examples and scale: Sponsors gave local estimates for how the fund would flow under the formula: Owosso would receive roughly $160,000–$176,000; Waterford Township about $261,000; Ludington about $50,000; Muskegon nearly $500,000; Flint about $1.9 million; Grand Rapids about $3.2 million; and Warren about $1.1 million. Representatives and witnesses described those figures as illustrative and approximate.

Opponents or cautions: Some lawmakers raised concerns that new, targeted local funding could be used as leverage to cut other local revenue-sharing or to shift priorities. Representative McFall said municipalities sometimes point to outside funding when arguing for reductions in other local revenue streams. Sponsors replied that the trust-fund dollars are intended to be additional and not a substitute for existing revenue-sharing.

Committee action and next steps: After testimony, the committee unanimously adopted the H-1 substitutes for both bills and voted to report each bill out of committee with recommendation (both recorded as 5 yeas, 0 nays). Committee members earlier also adopted and reported substitute measures for unrelated House Bills 4233 and 4234 with a narrower roll-call outcome (3 ayes, 0 nays, 2 pass) before taking up the public-safety package.

Votes at a glance: - House Bill 4260 (H-1 substitute adopted): Motion to adopt substitute adopted (5 yeas, 0 nays, 0 pass). Motion to report with recommendation passed (5 yeas, 0 nays). - House Bill 4261 (H-1 substitute adopted): Motion to adopt substitute adopted (5 yeas, 0 nays, 0 pass). Motion to report with recommendation passed (5 yeas, 0 nays). - House Bill 4233 (H-3 substitute adopted): H-3 substitute adopted; reported with recommendation (3 ayes, 0 nays, 2 pass). - House Bill 4234 (H-1 substitute adopted): H-1 substitute adopted; reported with recommendation (3 ayes, 0 nays, 2 pass).

What’s next: The bills were reported out of committee with recommendation; sponsors said they will continue to work with House leadership and the governor’s office to secure funding and move the measures toward final action.

Sources: Committee testimony and roll calls at the Michigan House Committee on Government Operations meeting.