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Senate budget includes $25 million to replace declining federal VAWA funding; senator seeks codification
Summary
Senate budget includes about $25 million to make up for falling federal Violence Against Women Act funding, and the sponsor said she introduced a bill to codify that commitment so advocates won’t need to lobby annually.
A reporter asked Speaker 5 (addressed in the briefing as Senator Dhingra) about her bill to fund crime victim services. Speaker 5 said her proposal would codify an annual practice: the state has been making up the decreasing federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) funds, and the Senate operating budget includes roughly $25,000,000 to cover that gap.
Senator Dhingra (Speaker 5) said the intent is to ensure survivor services receive predictable funding so advocates do not need to come to Olympia each year to secure the money. She acknowledged two outstanding issues: an apparent funding transfer error affecting the domestic-violence law center and a House budget change that reduced funds slated for prosecutors from $4,000,000 to $2,000,000 per year.
Speaker 5 said the Senate budget’s allocation is consistent with past practice and is intended to protect survivors’ services; she urged resolution of the two flagged issues as the chambers reconcile budgets.
