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Treasury warns criminal‑injuries fund could run negative by FY2028 as conviction‑fee collections fall
Summary
Treasurer David Lillard told the committee that collections for the Criminal Injuries Compensation (CIC) fund have fallen (from about $6.2M in 2015 to $4.8M in 2025), federal VOCA reimbursements lag actual spending, and without changes the CIC fund balance is projected to be negative by FY2028.
Treasury officials told the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee on Jan. 13 that the Criminal Injuries Compensation (CIC) fund is facing a funding squeeze driven by declining state privilege (criminal conviction) fee collections and a lagging federal reimbursement stream.
Treasurer David Lillard said the state’s privilege fee collections for the fund declined from approximately $6.2 million in 2015 to about $4.8 million in 2025, and he cited a TASER study indicating criminal courts historically collect roughly 30% of fines and fees levied. Lillard said that the federal VOCA grant reimburses a share of state expenditures but operates on a reimbursement basis and runs roughly two years behind, exposing the fund to timing risks.
Lillard told the committee that the CIC fund paid more than $8.1 million in claims in FY25 and about $2 million for sexual‑assault forensic exams. He reported a fund balance of about $7.1 million at the close of FY25 and told members Treasury projects the fund would end FY28 with a negative balance if collection trends continue.
Why it matters: the CIC fund supports hospital payments, funeral costs and other victim services. A structural shortfall could require repeated nonrecurring or general‑fund infusions to preserve current benefits and services.
Committee discussion covered whether raising the statutory fee ($26.50, set in statute) would help; members noted that raising the fee may not solve the problem if collection rates remain low. Treasury said the statutory fee level dates back decades and offered an inflation‑adjusted comparison (committee calculation cited roughly $83.15 in today’s dollars) as context. Treasury staff said greater transparency and jurisdictional data on collections—consistent with prior TASER recommendations—would help target remedies.
The committee did not vote on policy changes; Treasury said it will supply corrected slide materials and additional collection data to the committee.
