Bill would let domestic-violence intervention grants pay for pretrial GPS monitoring

Sen. Mike Yakawich, sponsor of Senate Bill 280, told the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that the bill would allow grant money from the state’s domestic violence intervention fund to be used for pretrial electronic monitoring for people charged with domestic violence.

Yakawich said the funding at issue already exists in a Board of Crime Control fund financed by marriage license fees and that the bill would not add spending, only adjust how existing grant dollars are allocated. “The funding comes from the domestic violence intervention budget…30 dollars of every marriage license fee goes into this fund,” Yakawich said, adding the fund currently holds about $400,000 and the board typically authorizes about $120,000 to be spent each year.

The sponsor described the measure as a way to reduce jail populations and to provide…