1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to public safety; increasing funding for crime victim services; establishing 
1.3 	grants for organizations that provide direct services to crime victims; appropriating 
1.4 	money.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. DIRECT ASSISTANCE TO CRIME VICTIM SURVIVORS; 
1.7 	APPROPRIATION.
 1.8 	$25,000,000 in fiscal year 2024 and $25,000,000 in fiscal year 2025 are appropriated 
1.9 	from the general fund to the commissioner of public safety to increase base funding for 
1.10 	crime victim services for the Office of Justice Programs to provide grants for direct services 
1.11 	and advocacy for victims of sexual assault, general crime, domestic violence, and child 
1.12 	abuse. Funding must support the direct needs of organizations serving victims of crime by 
1.13 	providing: direct client assistance to crime victims; competitive wages for direct service 
1.14 	staff; hotel stays and other housing-related supports and services; culturally responsive 
1.15 	programming; prevention programming, including domestic abuse transformation and 
1.16 	restorative justice programming; and other needs of organizations and crime victim survivors. 
1.17 	Services funded must include services for victims of crime in underserved communities 
1.18 	most impacted by violence and reflect the ethnic, racial, economic, cultural, and geographic 
1.19 	diversity of the state. The Office of Justice Programs shall prioritize culturally specific 
1.20 	programs, or organizations led and staffed by persons of color that primarily serve 
1.21 	communities of color, when allocating funds.