St. Paul, MN - Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives unanimously passed House File 1295, legislation authored by State Representative Pete Johnson (DFL - Duluth). The bill would add children’s advocacy centers to the list of “victim assistance programs,” enabling them to receive proceeds from fines imposed on people convicted of assault or criminal sexual misconduct.
“This is a good bill that speaks for itself, it provides support to a great program that does right by Minnesota’s kids,” said Rep. Johnson. “When a horrendous crime is committed, we can at least ensure that support is delivered to victims and their families.”
Child Advocacy Centers provide children who have been the victims of abuse and their non-offending family members with support and advocacy, specialized medical evaluation, trauma-focused mental health services, and forensic interviews.
Under current law, courts must impose a fine on people convicted of assault, domestic assault, assault on an unborn child, or criminal sexual conduct for an amount that is at least 30% of the maximum amount allowed by law for the offense. 70% of the proceeds from each fine is allocated to a local victim assistance program in the county where the crime was committed, with the remaining 30% deposited in the state General Fund.
As amended by HF 1295, the statute lists out the types of organizations that qualify as “victim assistance programs,” which are: victim witness programs within county attorney offices, crime victim crisis centers, victim-witness programs, domestic abuse victim shelters and nonshelter programs, and sexual assault programs.
Video of today’s floor debate can be found on the House Public Information YouTube channel.
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