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.