Congress members question Inslee on ‘equity’ re-allocation of police funding | Washington

(The Center Square) – Most of Washington’s congressional delegation have signed a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee asking about recent policy changes they say could lead to a $2.9 million yearly reduction in law enforcement funding during the height of an opioid epidemic. State officials say they’re following federal requirements.

At issue are multi-jurisdictional task forces, or MJTFs. There are currently 16 active in Washington. Dating back to 1987, Washington’s MJTFs were created to deal with the problem of investigating and stopping crime that crosses jurisdictional borders. 

Even intrastate, crimes committed between jurisdictions can muddy the waters of who has authority. This problem becomes more pronounced for crimes like drug enforcement, which frequently cross interstate or even international borders. 

Since its inception in 2005, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, or more simply the Byrne JAG, has allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to disburse an average of $474 million per fiscal year in grant funding nationwide. Approximately $180,000 of that grant funding has gone to fund each of the 16 active MJTFs in Washington annually. 

That could soon change. State officials in July finished a process to re-tool the annual funding into a competitive proposal process, putting the MJTFs at odds with others looking for a portion of those dollars. Competition for those funds in future allocations will be – according to the Strategic Plan – judged by; innovation, equity/fairness, collaboration, compassion, data-informed and evidence-based practices, accountability and restoration.

“For the last seventeen years, Byrne JAG has been a stable source of funding for MJTFs in Washington, enabling them to carry out operations, purchase new equipment and hire personnel. Eliminating Byrne JAG funding for MJTFs — without first guaranteeing an alternative funding source — could prove disastrous for Washington,” the letter states. 

Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Rick Larsen, Suzan DelBene, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Dan Newhouse, Derek Kilmer, Kim Schrier, and Marilyn Strickland signed the bipartisan letter.

The Center Square reached out to the Washington Department of Commerce, which administers Washington’s portion of the Byrne JAG funds, for an explanation of what this means for task force funding.

“A federally-required Strategic Plan developed in coordination with the JAG Advisory Committee and finalized in July introduced a new strategy to guide Washington’s JAG investments over the next five years, among other things expanding the number of potential recipients and program areas to meet emerging needs,” said Commerce Spokesperson Penny Thomas in an email to The Center Square.

She cited the federally mandated 2023-2027 Byrne JAG Strategic Plan authored earlier this year.

“In the future, JAG funds will be allocated as described in the Strategic Plan. Law enforcement agencies will still be eligible to apply for funding consistent with the criteria set out in the Plan and in specific funding solicitations. The awards will be made through a competitive process,” Thomas added.

This competitive process is the issue.

“[It] generated concerns among the task forces about a funding stream that has been relatively predictable for many years. In response to these concerns, Commerce has offered to use unspent JAG funds to extend existing Task Force contracts through June 30, 2024, at a cost of $2.1 million. This will allow extended opportunity for task force leadership – and local and state lawmakers – to explore alternate funding for ongoing task force operations,” Thomas said.

When asked if the funding was simply being converted from a sure thing into a competitive grant process, meaning various task forces would need to apply, Thomas replied in the affirmative.

“It’s important to note that the federal funds have helped support the task forces, but are not the only source of funding for the work,” she added. “The assessment we commissioned will help us understand what the blend of existing funding is and the funding options (local, state, federal) moving forward. All this well before the extended contracts end on June 30, 2024.”

The Byrne JAG fund requests for proposals will be available through the Washington State Department of Commerce website.

Inslee has yet to reply to the eight Members of Congress in writing.