[{"_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",6269666,"mediaKeyId","3040960-2a624ca3dd75914dd15699a9b3d34541","parentId",3040960,"title","Public hearing on HB 5,014: wide testimony urging funding for DOJ programs from victim services to organized crime and community violence intervention","audioSeconds",3865,"startMs",504913,"endMs",4370443,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3040960-2a624ca3dd75914dd15699a9b3d34541&start=504&end=4370","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3040960-2a624ca3dd75914dd15699a9b3d34541/thumbnail_504913.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6269666/Oregon/Public-hearing-on-HB-5014-wide-testimony-urging-funding-for-DOJ-programs-from-victim-services-to-organized-crime-and-community-violence-intervention","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6269666-60ca1272b33fb74acda5eb6f0b1e6b4c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434790&Signature=TCAEFDRqgEBSJ~5PA7p2ojbKccj1A~2ipOs6MnRbacOzhsC52uiuMI4RLHjFzQ1CfEGLodBqnEdIXLkn8P5~~svdww3UYuNVNiuxXZpRwLmCWE8mRAC7uRiS7qpmcM1lgTc4UUSoScIUEUKhHPGxoDKsl-HK7ztr~II6FTI5mLyeIyzaaFeZTZXWePIZSjvBJ4nNQZ3ilAoKHgCuX9cPsin6qTQ3p61F2AWE5PnY3M3T4B~fwEXQq6fj6H3mbKOPusGd2k8e7xQn95B57IOGCzohhXKF8dODDgcg7PmYbiSR9yjug5-krkv1gzzpStqbHgdtoACb0u5h-AlgfzeVFg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon Legislature","date","2025-04-17T00:00:00Z","article","The Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Public Safety held a public hearing on House Bill 5,014 on April 17, 2025, with dozens of witnesses urging support for specific Department of Justice budget requests and related bills. Testimony focused on expanding in-house legal capacity, funding victim services and children's advocacy centers, supporting an organized-crime initiative by the attorney general, and investing in community violence intervention.

\"I'm here to support House Bill 5,014,\" Nathan Vasquez, Multnomah County district attorney, told the committee. Vasquez said he supports Attorney General Rayfield's organized-crime proposal because complex investigations into human trafficking, organized retail theft and stolen-goods trafficking require coordinated state and local resources.

Detective Timothy Larson of the Portland Police Bureau's human trafficking unit described his unit's small size and the resource intensity of trafficking investigations, saying the work \"takes resources\" and that added state support would improve prosecutions and victim services. Larson told the committee that trafficking victims often face vulnerabilities such as lack of housing and food and that the cases are \"often very violent,\" citing research and operational experience.

Many witnesses pressed for continued and expanded funding for victim services. Heather Weigler, a senior assistant attorney general and president of the Oregon Association of Justice Attorneys (AWAJA) AFSCME Local 10-85, urged passage of the DOJ policy option packages including POP 2-21, POP 4-10 and POP 2-71 to add capacity across civil enforcement, trial, and criminal divisions.

Survivor-service providers detailed rising demand and the consequences of funding cuts. Ashley Carson, executive director of Center for Hope and Safety, said the agency answered more than 38,000 contacts and provided over 10,000 nights of shelter in the prior year and urged support for POP 3-27 and related bills. Several other nonprofit and advocacy leaders described large increases in calls, emergency medical advocacy hours and use of emergency hotel vouchers; multiple witnesses warned that a 42% cut to VOCA would force service reductions unless the legislature backfilled funds through House Bill 3,196.

Children's advocacy centers and allied groups asked the committee to preserve base funding for CACs. Shelly Smith, executive director of Oregon Child Abuse Solutions, said POP 3-27 would provide $6,000,000 for CACs consistent with prior biennia and that House Bill 4,140 (2024) specified $6,000,000 should be considered current service level. Sarah Stewart, managing director at Kids First in Lane County, said VOCA cuts represented a statewide shortfall of $18.5 million and more than $170,000 for her center alone; she said the loss would force difficult cuts and risk failing statutorily required services.

Community violence intervention advocates asked for stable, ongoing funding for frontline prevention. Amy Wexler and Lionel Irving of the Alliance for a Safe Oregon and Love Is Stronger urged POP 3-31 and a $20 million ongoing allocation for community violence intervention programs, arguing CVI reduces shootings and homicides and is cost-effective compared with responding after incidents occur.

Law enforcement from small and rural jurisdictions also urged support for the attorney general’s organized-crime plan. Chief Rick Stocco, a police chief in eastern Oregon, said rural agencies face cross-jurisdictional drug trafficking, theft rings and human trafficking and that regional DOJ teams with special agents and embedded prosecutors would make investigations feasible for under-resourced departments.

Multiple union and labor leaders and DOJ employees urged funding to restore staffing across DOJ divisions. Renee Bracken, a DOJ paralegal and SEIU Local 503 member, described the impact of DOJ services such as child support on families and urged support for the full agency budget. Katrina McCracken and Heather Weigler representing AWAJA urged more in-house attorneys to reduce outsourcing and safeguard taxpayer dollars.

The committee set a two-minute time limit for public testimony and left the written record open for 48 hours from the start of the hearing. Committee members thanked witnesses and closed the public hearing after testimony concluded.

No formal committee vote on House Bill 5,014 occurred during the hearing; the session recorded testimony and acknowledged that additional budget deliberations would follow in subsequent Ways and Means proceedings.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Joint Committee On Ways and Means Subcommittee On Public Safety 04/17/2025 8:00 AM","oneSentenceSummary","The Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Public Safety held a public hearing on April 17, 2025, on House Bill 5,014; witnesses from prosecutors' offices, law enforcement, victim-service providers, children's advocacy centers and community violence programs urged funding for multiple DOJ initiatives.","taxTitle","Public Safety, Ways and Means, Joint, Committees, Legislative, Oregon","taxId",18852,"location","Oregon","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},6269670,"Committee acknowledges DOJ report on litigation outsourcing; motion passes",387,28753,416693,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3040960-2a624ca3dd75914dd15699a9b3d34541&start=28&end=416","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3040960-2a624ca3dd75914dd15699a9b3d34541/thumbnail_28753.jpg","/articles/6269670/Oregon/Committee-acknowledges-DOJ-report-on-litigation-outsourcing-motion-passes","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6269670-e55c7c574f1d75451b0d31ee8e8b4577/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434790&Signature=XwZnk3WxbM6chOfpI8KPmp6Ai-TCFb9p20cvHjaafy4d~nMr0MWyY0pybBLaP3zcKQ-Cg6ieKw93p~7b34SS-fZYe2z6DsnJKdeAa8FPJmmJzE~PEpkRGgNogcPTsDgf~v-GhVZzqRZFLPmkMv6r3osI26ttIto~SVRWpqOb4PX3kLUB4qpDfssuz8AxttP-HN1dFnBX3~zCtGJWsopg3mhKuWlIeW9QY0Cj5rRIS9IwmJgHrgXacQnhNlPUE4lXcjbQL0WUMJKkWqKVt75zCpjP6eDpsBoH42HbglApaLoAMnERkaOljHs~k90~s-XDMbDeBvGgFW9vTh2eVH1pXA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Public Safety acknowledged a Department of Justice report on litigation outsourcing during a work session on April 17, 2025, and voted to accept the Legislative Fiscal Office recommendation to receive the report.

The report, provided after a budget note in 2023 that accompanied Senate Bill 5,514, describes how the DOJ used four additional positions approved in 2023 to reduce reliance on outside counsel. \"We asked for and, received and are very grateful for, 2 attorney positions and support staff for those 2 attorney positions, 1 paralegal and 1 secretary,\" said Sheila Potter, chief counsel for the trial division at the Oregon Department of Justice. Potter said the department placed one new attorney in the civil litigation section and one in the special litigation unit to retain more complex cases in-house.

The DOJ estimated savings by comparing the billed hours of the newly hired attorneys through November 2024 with a conservative outside-counsel rate of $400 per hour. That calculation, the department said in the report, produced estimated savings of more than $3,000,000. Based on those results, the department has requested 33 additional positions in its current budget request, 17 of which would be attorneys.

Legislative Fiscal Office staff recommended the committee acknowledge receipt of the report. Co-chair Bridal moved to approve the LFO recommendation and the motion \"passes,\" according to the committee record; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.

The committee closed the work session after the motion and proceeded to a public hearing on House Bill 5,014. The record shows the subcommittee asked the Department of Administrative Services to provide a recommendation and DAS recommended acknowledging receipt of the report.

Because the report said it could not allocate exact savings by client agency — the trial division assigns lawyers by legal area rather than to specific client agencies — the DOJ did not provide an agency-by-agency savings breakdown. The report and witnesses called for further appropriation requests based on the department's analysis that increased in-house capacity reduces outsourcing costs.

Looking ahead, the department's staffing and budget requests that rely on the report’s findings remain subject to future committee consideration during budget deliberations.","A legislative subcommittee formally acknowledged an Oregon Department of Justice report on litigation outsourcing and its initial staffing investments, and a motion to accept the report passed with no recorded objections.","actionData","errors"]

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Public hearing on HB 5,014: wide testimony urging funding for DOJ programs from victim services to organized crime and community violence intervention

Committee acknowledges DOJ report on litigation outsourcing; motion passes