Department of Public Safety outlines governor’s supplemental package; committee hears plea to add $12M for victim services

Department of Public Safety officials presented the governor’s 2026 supplemental public‑safety budget and the committee discussed fiscal and program priorities included in House File 1082 (DE6).

Commissioner Bob Jacobson said the supplemental package includes a gun‑violence prevention proposal with public‑education funding for extreme risk protection orders, measures to limit availability of certain firearms and equipment (including a proposed binary trigger ban), increased penalties for impersonating public‑safety officers, and a requirement that law‑enforcement vehicles be decommissioned before public sale. He said parts of the package overlap with other bills the committee will hear, and framed the submission as a total package from the governor’s office.

Alison Ferle (Director, Homeland Security & Emergency Management Division) described a proposal to augment the School Safety Center’s personnel and create a K–12 school‑safety grant program open to public, private, charter and tribal schools for purchases of safety equipment and training.

Drew Evans (Superintendent, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension) asked for resources to expand the Behavioral Threat Assessment Management (BTAM) team and add forensic accountants and analysts to handle increasing financial‑crimes caseloads. He said the BTAM team reviewed 112 tips/cases in 2025 and had received 105 cases so far in 2026, and recommended funding roughly $1,500,000 for eight positions in FY27 with ongoing support thereafter.

The finance vehicle HF 1082 (DE6) was then presented by staff (Wiles and Johnson). Wiles walked members through line items and fiscal impacts: a $1,000,000 FY27 grant for nonfatal shooting clearance, adjustments across corrections bills with modest bed impacts, and an increase to the Philando Castile training reimbursement to $6,000,000 per year. The DE6 also includes a $12,000,000 transfer to the Minnesota Victims of Crime account; staff described the DE6 total around $15,443,000 for the biennium.

Katie Kramer (co‑executive director, Violence Free Minnesota) and Tina Bronson (co‑executive director, Alexandra House) testified in strong support of adding $12,000,000 to the victims account, saying flat state funding and reduced federal VOCA receipts have left programs operating beyond capacity and that a 20% funding cut would shutter some rural programs and reduce services statewide. "What are you willing to lose? Because without this investment, we will lose services," Kramer said. Bronson described an example of a survivor whose life was stabilized with shelter and legal advocacy provided by Alexandra House.

Representative Harder asked whether the $12,000,000 is one‑time and how it would be distributed. Kim Beibine (Executive Director, Office of Justice Programs) said it is one‑time funding and would be added to existing base funds and distributed through the department’s competitive grant process currently open, effectively restoring prior funding levels but not creating a new ongoing appropriation.

Committee members expressed broad support for a comprehensive approach to gun‑violence prevention coupled with prevention, BTAM expansion and school‑safety investments. The DE6 language was reviewed in detail but no final floor votes on HF 1082 were taken; the committee laid over the bill as the finance vehicle for further action.