[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6386233,"mediaKeyId","2118397-1a2d3f1ae2065f843638e1c03a86c3d5","parentId",2118397,"title","Committee staff outlines governor's public‑safety budget amendments: SRO funding, corrections health costs, veterans centers and equipment grants","audioSeconds",1105,"startMs",1884000,"endMs",2989000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2118397-1a2d3f1ae2065f843638e1c03a86c3d5&start=1884&end=2989","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2118397-1a2d3f1ae2065f843638e1c03a86c3d5/thumbnail_1884000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6386233/Virginia/Committee-staff-outlines-governors-publicsafety-budget-amendments-SRO-funding-corrections-health-costs-veterans-centers-and-equipment-grants","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6386233-e31cc97d4918f820fe0b3e6d4a956013/orig.mp4?Expires=1771148849&Signature=k8ojg~RttRY~XAj~LneGRZ5xfdPlDS7TcEBywLVROd0OYvBLpPtc73i7mfTnbyAXDX53DWs1oQDrflkptbTfWXSGhMS~pXSTBoEY0RRfB4By1gHv9RRpTub~3E13cY95iCNpq0kFDtzpgbTAd6YqrpRYzYHqEqSSie1Or5ZB0PwFUMh5h2hXJRDk-Y473ptW5KZYd3SIIfzBa8M54-XtxkHIIsyIzmXK~Sh3qw3Gt2ZrMW4lWZVuf9HLk3Ek8gQDJw~zPHciD2~v4jHB~FIV--IC17ysZQvPFdcxFMOR8304Gyq8FLsfYWb1d5veY3hixqUAog0kT425~skxDRQ~Pg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Virginia Legislature","date","2025-01-15T00:00:00Z","article","A staff member for the Senate Finance and Appropriations Public Safety Subcommittee provided a high‑level overview of the governor's proposed budget amendments related to public safety, listing targeted increases for school resource officers, firefighter equipment, corrections health care and veterans' care centers and describing operational items such as mobile classrooms and technology upgrades.

The staff presentation identified the largest items as $6.8 million for school resource officers (SROs) in FY2025 and $5 million for firefighter protective equipment grants. It also listed a $4.7 million operating request related to two new veterans' care centers (one in Virginia Beach and one in Fauquier County) that the department previously began funding with a $19.1 million appropriation.

For the Department of Corrections (DOC), staff said year‑over‑year inmate health‑care costs are rising, driven in part by specialty drug price increases and a rebound in off‑site clinical services that had declined during COVID. The governor's amendments include funding for expanded dental services provided by two mobile dental teams and funding for mobile career‑and‑technical‑education (CTE) classrooms intended for lower‑security facilities; staff said the CTE item would buy three mobile trailers and that DOC plans to absorb staffing costs from existing vacancies.

Staff described an expansion in community supervision technology branded \"Shadow Track,\" an app that has been used for low‑risk offenders and is proposed to be expanded to additional supervision populations to allow secure messaging, video contacts and alerts if an offender absconds.

The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) was identified as seeking funds to cover higher intake and contracted preplacement costs: staff cited roughly $1.8 million for intake services and about $1.3 million for contracted services tied to preplacement and longer stays in intake. Staff said juvenile admissions remain lower than pre‑COVID levels but have ticked upward since the pandemic.

For the Virginia State Police and other criminal‑justice technology, staff flagged a proposal to add a 1.4 percent pay step for sworn VSP officers on top of statewide increases, and an upgrade program for live‑scan fingerprint machines; the presentation noted about 800 machines statewide may need upgrades and the proposal would initially fund approximately 180 local upgrades. The live‑scan upgrade earlier used ARPA funds at the state level, staff said, and this amendment would extend access for local agencies.

Other items summarized included a proposed $35.2 million expansion of an ECO/TDO transportation pilot statewide, $3.5 million for law‑enforcement transportation reimbursement, $2.5 million for public‑safety communication infrastructure grants and $688,000 for additional fire marshal staffing. For forensic science, staff proposed four positions to maintain a new laboratory and address growing caseloads.

Committee members asked for additional detail in several areas. Members pressed the Department of Veterans Services to provide a formal plan showing how the two new veterans' care centers will become self‑sufficient after initial start‑up funding; Steve Combs, deputy commissioner for the Department of Veterans Services, told the committee the plan is being finalized and would be submitted shortly. Members also requested more detail on how an ongoing victim‑assistance grant to the Office of the Attorney General differs from local victim‑services funding and asked for a breakdown of which victim services are provided by state agencies versus local providers.

Staff flagged two language items of note: one would withhold certain state payments (compensation board and jail per diem and designated local public‑safety funds) from local officials or jurisdictions that do not comply with lawful U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests or that fail to provide 48‑hour prerelease notification to ICE; another would restrict inmates' eligibility to earn enhanced incentive credits where any portion of a concurrent or consecutive sentence is for an offense ineligible for the enhanced rate.

Staff concluded by offering to provide additional data points requested by senators, including breakdowns of mobile classroom deployment, the number of live‑scan machines needing upgrades and financial projections for veterans' centers. No formal votes were taken during the staff presentation.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","January 15, 2025 - SFAC: Public Safety and Claims - SR 1300 - 7:30 am","oneSentenceSummary","A staff member for the Senate Finance and Appropriations Public Safety Subcommittee summarized the governor's proposed public‑safety budget amendments, including funding increases for school resource officers, firefighter equipment, corrections health care, technology upgrades and veterans' care centers.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature VA, Virginia","taxId",77687,"location","Virginia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6386236,"Virginia public-safety secretary briefs subcommittee on fentanyl seizures, trafficking operations, drones and first-responder wellness",1723,144000,1867000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2118397-1a2d3f1ae2065f843638e1c03a86c3d5&start=144&end=1867","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2118397-1a2d3f1ae2065f843638e1c03a86c3d5/thumbnail_144000.jpg","/articles/6386236/Virginia/Virginia-public-safety-secretary-briefs-subcommittee-on-fentanyl-seizures-trafficking-operations-drones-and-first-responder-wellness","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6386236-7479f05236bfda5eb8a5db9e695bdff1/orig.mp4?Expires=1771148849&Signature=DxQavP0-4H8QrbIwg2a0Fyi-Yu3~H08yp9Zr05XBQygDiTqEv4ZEX76ddPGC9GbeivyRHRWFGO~Q~L87QlnK39P8qtQxXVCoHBQ5L49X8KEqPXm~f4z26NNs94rtGXth4m5MAn50kQISsbRo073JlDzd4RqcUa2z3i7YKYGW5Dxb~Y5BQxivLbGrllyKqAloXAXOYV933EvIsWeUr3K2LNbw838OEtdKZ7xB9RU~voxxr1ZOruOE~wJ7Z8BeHnvUF38LI1JsGlWHETs~~0GWYsc956CRg2-z1Tg~pVPsW3ma9Y1v9hK4XacmIMRXho7eRX5dLEHMcg06rXkhoDKY0g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Secretary Terry Cole, Virginia's Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, told the Senate Finance and Appropriations Public Safety Subcommittee in Richmond that state and local partners have carried out a series of coordinated operations that produced large fentanyl seizures, launched a human‑trafficking surge and highlighted new homeland‑security threats posed by drones.

Cole briefed the panel on Operation Free, which he said began as a 30‑day coordinated statewide enforcement and public‑education surge and later expanded into a 45‑day effort that included more jurisdictions and out‑of‑state partners. \"Just in the Commonwealth, during those 45 days, we seized 574 pounds of fentanyl,\" Cole said, adding that the amount is \"enough fentanyl to kill every Virginian at least eight times over.\" He credited local, state and federal partners and said an Operation Free 3.0 is planned for the coming months.

The secretary also described a separate, 45‑day human‑trafficking operation led by the Virginia State Police in partnership with the Human Trafficking Institute and other agencies. Cole said the task force has 136 active human‑trafficking cases and that, so far in 2024, 47 victims were identified and offered services. The operation combines education, enforcement and victim services and Cole praised public‑private partners, including trucking authorities that donated billboard space for outreach.

Cole described an Office of First Responder Wellness established in the secretariat and implemented with the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), the Virginia State Police (VSP) and fire programs. He said DCJS received two Justice Assistance Grants totaling more than $1,000,000 for wellness work, and that the office and partners have held 45 in‑person and virtual trainings reaching about 550 first responders; he noted an inaugural statewide wellness conference in Norfolk with about 350 attendees.

On recruiting and retention, Cole said VSP has seen an applicant increase of roughly 50 percent for basic academy class 144 and a 34 percent rise in applicants with bachelor's degrees, but he warned that recruiting for the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) remains difficult because of long hours and assaults on staff.

Cole warned the committee about an increase in sophisticated criminal networks and new homeland‑security risks. He said the Homeland Security Bureau within VSP will try to break down information silos between state, federal and private partners to better track foreign surveillance and drone incursions. \"The last drone we had was carrying a 17‑pound payload that ran into the fence,\" Cole said, describing a recent correctional‑facility incident in which contraband was delivered by drone; he said some drone‑related material cannot be discussed publicly.

Senators asked follow‑up questions during the presentation. Sen. Dave Marsden raised a separate concern about guns stolen from vehicles; Cole responded that many thefts came from unsecured vehicles and suggested expanded public education for owners about secure storage. Sen. Gazala Hashmi asked for more data after Cole referenced incidents involving Chinese nationals photographing critical infrastructure; Hashmi said she was concerned about the potential for public statements to fuel anti‑Asian bias and asked for a private briefing with more detail. Cole agreed to follow up privately.

The secretary credited Major Richard Boyd and Deputy Secretary Marcus Anderson for leading Operation Free and Deputy Secretary Lisa Wahlberg for the human‑trafficking initiative. Committee members also asked the administration to provide more detail about the use of approximately $3,000,000 in redirected violence‑reduction funds that Cole said had been allocated to first‑responder wellness.

Cole concluded by urging continued multiagency coordination on fentanyl, trafficking and homeland‑security threats and said the state will press federal partners for better situational awareness around drone incursions and foreign surveillance.

The subcommittee did not take any formal votes during the presentation; members requested follow‑up data on redirected grant funds, domestic‑terrorism trends and additional information about reported infrastructure surveillance.

","Secretary Terry Cole told the Senate Public Safety Subcommittee that multiagency operations have produced large fentanyl seizures, an ongoing 45-day human‑trafficking surge and growing homeland‑security concerns about drones and targeted infrastructure surveillance; he also described steps on first‑responder wellness and recruitment.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee staff outlines governor's public‑safety budget amendments: SRO funding, corrections health costs, veterans centers and equipment grants

Virginia public-safety secretary briefs subcommittee on fentanyl seizures, trafficking operations, drones and first-responder wellness