Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: We are live.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Okay. Welcome, folks. This is House Corrections and Institutions Committee. It is Thursday, February 26. We have with us our legislative council to walk us through some new language on draft 4.1 of House Bill five So 50 Hillary, I'm turning it over to you. And Mary Jane, do you have this latest draft?

[Mary Jane Ainsworth (Executive Director, Vermont Parole Board)]: We do.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Okay, great. Thank you. Yep. So Hillary.

[Hillary Chittenden Ames (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: For the record, Hillary Chittenden aims for the Office of Legislative Counsel. I will go ahead and share my screen.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: 4.1. Alright. We

[Hillary Chittenden Ames (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: have draft 4.1. The only changes are towards the end, and they are highlighted in yellow. So the first change starts in the bottom of page four on line 21. This is what you saw this morning, but was added from version 3.1 that in the report back about the external legal counsel pilot project, we added further details about what the report shall include. So the report shall include a recommendation regarding legal support for the board going forward and the resources needed. Next on page five, there is a new section, section six, highlighted on lines nine through 12. The recommendation from JFO was that if exactly where this money is going to come from will be specified later, put in for now the general fund and in whatever side letter and communication goes to appropriations, the committee can identify the plan for further specifying the source of those funds. So this section six appropriation states that the sum of $50,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Corrections in fiscal year twenty twenty seven for the purpose of hiring external legal counsel pursuant to section four of this act. So together with Section five, that means that there would be $75,000 available for the Royal Board external legal counsel.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: So Mary Jane, I don't know if you heard if you were on when I mentioned I spoke to representative of SQUIRREL in appropriations. And we are not doing the pretrial supervision. And there's money in that program, that we can pull $50,000 from for this piece here. And he's aware of that, and he was comfortable with that. So that's where the 50,000 would come from.

[Mary Jane Ainsworth (Executive Director, Vermont Parole Board)]: Good afternoon. Mary Jane Einsworth, the director of the parole board. I did hear that, madam chair, and it is appreciative the work that you have all done on this. And also appreciative that this is not going to come from a program that could substantially hurt resources in other areas as well.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Thank you for the work that you've done too. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the work that you've been doing. So hopefully this stays, and we will follow it through when it goes, the bill will go to appropriations after we vote this out, which I hope we vote out in a few minutes. And then we'll have that conversation down there as well. Okay, one

[Hillary Chittenden Ames (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: last edit, starting at the bottom of page five on section seven, where it talks about the plural board director submitting a proposed budget to DOC and to AHS. There's a report back. And we added further language detailing what that report shall include. So this is starting on line 21 of page five. The report shall include a recommendation regarding the parole board submitting an annual budget to the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections. So those are the changes. Happy to answer any questions. Otherwise, I can pull up the clean version of this without the highlighting, which is the version that the committee would be passing out.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: But it's still 4.1.

[Hillary Chittenden Ames (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: It's exactly the same. It just removes the internal edit. So, like, this little and I can show the do this, but it just it removes anything showing changes. It's just the final version.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: And that would be the clean version that the reporter needs to email down to the clerk's office. Will? Yep. She's looking at me. So the clean version would be 4.1 that Hillary has. It needs to Not that one, it has the highlights.

[Hillary Chittenden Ames (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: She has both of them.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Can I make a motion

[Unidentified Committee Member]: that we pass the 4.1 version of H5.59? Second.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: It's been moved and seconded that we pass out favorably draft 4.1 of age five fifty nine. Is there any further discussion? If not, please call the ball.

[Unidentified Roll Caller (Clerk/Member acting as clerk)]: Let's rock and roll. Representative Casey, yes. Representative Galfetti?

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Yes.

[Unidentified Roll Caller (Clerk/Member acting as clerk)]: Representative Gregoire? Yes. Representative Hedrick? Yes. Representative Luneau?

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Yes.

[Unidentified Roll Caller (Clerk/Member acting as clerk)]: Representative Menier?

[Brian Minier (Member)]: Yep.

[Unidentified Roll Caller (Clerk/Member acting as clerk)]: Representative Morrissey?

[Mary A. Morrissey (Member)]: Yes.

[Unidentified Roll Caller (Clerk/Member acting as clerk)]: Sweeney, absent.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: He's absent.

[Unidentified Roll Caller (Clerk/Member acting as clerk)]: Representative Winter?

[Kevin Winter (Member)]: Yes.

[Unidentified Roll Caller (Clerk/Member acting as clerk)]: And Chair Emmons?

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Yes. Will Shawn be able to vote or not today? No. You

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: have three days that you can vote. He's already used one, so we didn't want to

[Unidentified Roll Caller (Clerk/Member acting as clerk)]: And the vote will be ten zero one.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: So, Will, you wanna report it still? Pete doesn't

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: So,

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: you'll be working with Tate right in a few minutes to send this down to the clerk's office. The bill, Mary Jane, the bill will be on notice calendar tomorrow, and it will be sent to Appropriations Committee. And when we come back from town meeting, it'll be the March 10 that week, they'll be taking it up during some point during that week. So you're good to go, and you're off work for dealing with us over a week.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: You lost some of

[Unidentified Roll Caller (Clerk/Member acting as clerk)]: I get to go do your real work.

[Mary Jane Ainsworth (Executive Director, Vermont Parole Board)]: Yes, thank you all.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: So hopefully it all works out. And I want to, again, thank you for bearing with us and coming in when I know sometimes it was difficult with your schedule. Thank

[Mary Jane Ainsworth (Executive Director, Vermont Parole Board)]: you all. I appreciate you taking the time to listen to the needs of the board.

[Unidentified Committee Member]: You can't thank Hillary enough. You can't thank Hillary.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: She's over there. You know, John got the candy bowl. Was gonna say her.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: John's treating John a penny and not laughing.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: President, there's been something.

[Unidentified Committee Member]: They've just been more Take two and three.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: So what we've got left for work, corrections work, is the telecommunications and gender equity. Am I missing and we've got to do work on the accountability thing, but that won't be for a little bit. That will be for the week we come back or the week after. So we're good to go, I think. Mhmm. Tomorrow tomorrow, we do have some schedule. And, you know, at this time of the year, the schedule is really gonna change at the last minute. Mhmm. So the agenda is posted on our web page. It's up to date as it always is.

[Unidentified Committee Member]: This is the last time I see Hillary before. We'll see you in one, won't we?

[Hillary Chittenden Ames (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: Maybe not the whole group. I'll see a few people for the h 05:50 discussion.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Wish you a handsome Enjoy your breaks.

[Hillary Chittenden Ames (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: Enjoy not seeing me for a week.

[Unidentified Committee Member]: No, I'm not.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: You're not.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: It's a highlight of the day. Hopefully. You'll be able to take

[Hillary Chittenden Ames (Office of Legislative Counsel)]: some little breath before we all come back

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: and If you're working on something and need to connect, feel free. I'll be

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: gone, but I'll be able Have

[Unidentified Committee Member]: a good rest of the week.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Tomorrow we're meeting after the floor. Martin might have some language on the new definition of recidivism. And we got something else, don't we? The telecom. Is John coming in tomorrow morning for the telecom? I think he was he indicated

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Yeah. Can do that.

[Unidentified Committee Member]: You know, we look like human teeth.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: We're at 01:00 tomorrow. Was actually thinking about what an underrated candy bar payday is.

[Unidentified Committee Member]: Oh, I love payday.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: You used to hate them both times.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: So we're working till 11:30. And then at twelve, we had this scheduled for last Friday. We're gonna shift to the capital bill, but we don't have anything in front of us for

[Unidentified Committee Member]: He's got Joe Luneau?

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Yes. Or do we? No. Down. There is we've got to change language from our previous capital bill that deals with Springfield. It deals with the correctional facility. When we built the facility, there was an agreement with a town that there was acreage behind the facility that could be transferred to the town of Springfield. That has been in the works since '19, since 2000. And there's been so many different gyrations of this over the years. But two years ago, new folks weren't on the committee. Mary and Troy, I think were here. BGS and Springfield had worked up an agreement to transfer a number of acres to Springfield, for Springfield to use it for their town garage. And the issue is there's a steep road that goes up to the facility. Part of the agreement is the town takes over the maintenance of that road, because right now it's the state that maintains it. So in the interim, Springfield's plans have changed. So we have to go back to the previous capital bill and amend that language because now they wanna use it for a different use, but they can't because they're locked in for the town garage, but they don't want to put the town garage there anymore. They want a different use there. So we have to amend the language. So that's what they're going

[Unidentified Committee Member]: to talk about tomorrow. We can focus on Springfield instead of Bennington.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: It's a

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: pretty easy thing. Especially

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: when the chair.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Wow. Anyway, that should be an easy fix for that. And then once we've finished with these corrections bills, then we're going to shift over to the capital bill and start markup. And there's going to be a lot of moving pieces because right now, there is, and I'm blanking something. There is a million dollars being requested from state colleges. There is the Wi Fi, incorrect. There was another thing that was a million. And I'm trying to recall what it was. State House life safety expansion. That's an issue.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Still there. I mean, that's been

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: They may need if we're gonna do it and get to the next design stage, they may need some money. But there was something else. Seems like there was something else that was in there. There was a million for state colleges for the housing. There was the Wi Fi for BGS. I mean, for DOC. There was something else for that. So then once we clear the corrections, we'll focus on capital bill. Son of time begins. Yeah. We did good work. I really appreciate everyone. I want to thank everyone. We kicked out two bills, three bills this

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Pretty week good. Before

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: press over. So I'm really working hard so we don't have the crunch time.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Oh, yeah. Along those lines, regarding $5.49.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Which is what?

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: The yeah. That's going to go

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: to ways and means today.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Yes. That's what I and that's the end indicated that. So then it goes to ways it means then what do I do?

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: You wait until they call you. What you should do is you should work with JFO, just and Nancy Prescott.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Yes, look at her name.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: And DMV to really go over that fee. The fee is zero. I think the question that will be asked from ways and means is how much money are we losing? Because we're. We're absorbing that internally in DMV. So you might wanna talk to Scott more about that and to Nancy just to be prepared. Goes to ways and means. It will be up for it will be up in that committee sometime during the week we come back. And what you'll have to do is, and Shawn, maybe Shawn, you could help Joe on this because you went into ways and means. Just focus on that cost, the fee, the revenues, they're not gaining any revenues.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Scott provided testimony.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: And Scott provided testimony, so that might help you. They will let you know. You might not come in until Wednesday or Thursday in Ways and Means. And then once it gets voted out of Ways and Means, then it will be unnoticed and then up for action that following day. And there'll be a reporter from Ways and Means as well.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Yeah. That part that part I have to understand.

[Shawn Sweeney (Clerk)]: I mean, is our guy now, really. So, Joe, I would go see him. His office is up there on the 2nd Floor next door.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: The pink plating. Or he's in the building.

[Shawn Sweeney (Clerk)]: Yeah. And and he's he's our he's kinda taken over our stuff. So he was really helpful with six thirty five, which I was supposed to report this week. He helped me with that. He gave me notes for it. So I would I would reach out to him.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Alright.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Cool. And work on your report, Joe, during the week. And, you you get in a bind, you don't understand a certain part of a section. Talk to, it was Hillary, right? That did that.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: I think I'm reasonably good now and I'll just reread it several times.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: And I'll work with you on the report when we get back that week. Haley found the language. Well, I didn't use Kristen Powers.

[Unidentified Committee Member]: No, I

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: found the language for the five positions. And it was in general government section. And it was a list of like 45 permanent, 43 permanent positions. And it was broken down by either agencies or departments. And it had within DOC five probation and parole officers. That's how

[Unidentified Committee Member]: it's That's right. Always has to go through government ops. So

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: I think we're good to go for those five for that. So with that, I'm done for the day. Good work, folks. I gotta

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: work. I gotta

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: bring the I know. Out. Troy, You can't go anywhere. Evan? No. On. Sorry. High fiving you. So let's go out for the YouTube photos.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Can I mention something real quick about bills that I meant to mention a minute ago? So I don't always think that it's gonna put on on a diet diet. I'm just about As long as we talk about all the good work that we're doing. I was curious about Are you down the shuttle? Or if wanna try to retest your name?

[Shawn Sweeney (Clerk)]: Mary, I'm having you.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Right back here. Shawn.

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Hi, Shawn.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: What is H eight six That's

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: an immigration agreement bill. So if there's any interest, I just wanna make sure. James, you're staying down here, yes, on on the record.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: We can hear from you about it. I don't know if we're gonna have time to work on it. Does that work with our MOU?

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: Does it work with our MOU? I don't think it really affects the MOU. So the one part that's in it that I feel that our community partners want, and that I quite frankly was kind of torn between, I think that would affect the MOU, it could be taken out.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: Well, us when we come back on Tuesday, could hear you walk through the

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: bill quickly. Don't know if they're

[Unidentified Committee Member]: all high fiving each other, and Shawn is too.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: So we'll see you, Shawn, tomorrow morning. Good job. And I hope you're feeling better. You look better. But don't push it.

[Unidentified Roll Caller (Clerk/Member acting as clerk)]: That looks gorgeous. See you tomorrow.

[Shawn Sweeney (Clerk)]: See you tomorrow.

[Alice M. Emmons (Chair)]: See you tomorrow. Get well. Wind machine. A wind machine. It's windy out there. So we are

[Joseph "Joe" Luneau (Member)]: done