Meetings
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[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Good morning. Good morning. It's Friday, March 13 at 09:10AM.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: We have on our agenda a conversation about the miscellaneous tax bill. And then after the floor, we have an act relating to alcoholic beverages and an act relating to commissary and telecommunications prices in state correctional facilities. And then after lunch today, we're going to return five fifty eight and accurately into Medicaid school based services, and then have a vote on our miscellaneous tax bill. So I wanted to leave this open space for the miscellaneous tax bill, just in case anyone has any sort of final concerns or things they needed further clarification from staff on. Okay. Seeing none, I'm going to would folks like to just vote on it now, or would you like to wait until the afternoon for the vote? I don't know. Does anyone want to wait? It's now. It was right there. It's okay. Here we go. Here. So it's
[John Gray (Legislative Counsel)]: gonna go. Okay.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: You okay, buddy? Okay. Was gonna go. I didn't get you. Okay.
[Chris Roop (Joint Fiscal Office)]: Cheetos.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Oh. Would rather wait to Oh, we haven't looked at the fiscal note. I would rather wait
[John Gray (Legislative Counsel)]: to see
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Okay, great. Sorry. Thank you. I went to that was the whole plan, I forgot about it. Sorry. Great. Okay. Needing no further clarification on the miscellaneous tax bill We're waiting till the afternoon, yes. Because we have to look at the fiscal note, which was the original reason I scheduled it that way and forgot. Thank you to the whole team. Chris, can you tell us about H-two 94?
[John Gray (Legislative Counsel)]: Sure. Do
[Chris Roop (Joint Fiscal Office)]: like to make them up?
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: I don't know. How many words are you going to use?
[Chris Roop (Joint Fiscal Office)]: There are a few.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Okay, you can stay there.
[Chris Roop (Joint Fiscal Office)]: Richard, Joint Fiscal H-two 94, which I think Legis Council will hopefully be walking me through, has to do with telecommunications fees and commissary fees at the Department of Corrections. Bottom line up front is that you all received the bill from the House vote because of what was in the underlying bill would have had some fiscal impacts, but as House Corrections did a strike all, it removed everything that would have had a fiscal impact and it just creates two reports. So that is, there is no fiscal note that is going to say that there is no impact, chair Evans's committee stripped everything out that would have had a fiscal effect, there's only two reports in it.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Thank you, sir.
[Chris Roop (Joint Fiscal Office)]: No cost of the sites? No.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Okay, so when we hear H294 from John Gray, we are not going to hear from Chris again, That's okay with everyone. Okay. Great. I think we're just gonna chill out muted for a few minutes while we wait for John. I'm Gray. Welcome to Ways and Means.
[John Gray (Legislative Counsel)]: Morning, everyone. I'm John Gray. I'm the civil council.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: We heard from Chris Roop on H 294 right before we muted the room. And now that we have you with us, we would love to hear about h two ninety four, please. Great. Screen share.
[John Gray (Legislative Counsel)]: Page two ninety four. We'll have a new title at the end of this amendment. Do you guys need me to go through the underlying or just corrections report? Just the final bill. Okay. So this is a strike all. This is a bill that had begun, as you can tell from the title on lines three through five, an act related commissary and telecommunications prices and state correctional facilities and fair compensation for incarcerated labor. It included some more substantive provisions. It is now a report bill related to those provisions. So it starts with some intent language. Section one is the intent of the general assembly to create conditions of incarceration that encourage the development and maintenance of personal supports necessary for rehabilitation, to mitigate disruptions to In our computer. Okay, perfect. So I can just skip intent language, that's great. Section two. Both of the reports you're gonna see in this bill are DOC reports. One is just for evaluation of telecommunication services. I can just do high level then. End of this year, POC to provide to the committees of jurisdiction a report evaluating options for, and this is the core of the it's kind of the animus for the bill, providing no cost telecommunications services to inmates in the department's custody, and it would take a look at different telecommunications service models, describe different options for achieving those goals, including through nonprofit providers. It would, for each option, analyze the cost to the state, which might consider both startup and ongoing costs, impacts on department budgets and any anticipated benefits or savings. Would identify the implementation transition considerations for each alternative, including timelines and statutory regulatory policy updates. As part of its evaluation, DOC would consult with a number of stakeholders, you see, the FFO or civic nonprofit providers, representatives of incarcerated Vermonters, justice reform organizations and the like, and would provide a couple of updates to joint legislative justice oversight committee in advance of that final due date.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Where does the final report go?
[John Gray (Legislative Counsel)]: Committees so corrections institutions and senate institutions. The second report in the strap is on page four, section three, it's a wage impact evaluation report. Same due date, same committees of jurisdiction. Do you see would evaluate the impacts of current wages for inmates that looks at current wage levels, tries to identify the categories of labor that's performed by inmates that would otherwise be covered by the state, and basically asks the question, if the state had to internalize these costs, what would that cost the state? Compares different wage scenarios and estimates the impact on outcomes for inmates, such as their maintenance of family contacts, compliance with restitution support obligations, reentry success and the like, and then assesses the relationship, this is one of the big points they wanted to draw out, between current wage levels and participants in those work programs to purchase health communications and commissary items.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Any questions for Don? Thank you so much, Don. Appreciate you coming up here. Have a lovely rest of your morning.
[John Gray (Legislative Counsel)]: You too. Thank you. I'm gonna go to my office.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: What happens next, everyone?
[Charles Kimbell (Ranking Member)]: I would move Madam Chair, that we find age two ninety four favorable.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Thank you. Representative Kimbell moves, we find age two ninety four favorable. Representative Branagan seconds. That was weird. Any discussion? Seeing none, please call the roll. Representative Branagan, kiss. I'll vote yes. Is Representative Burkhardt? Representative Higley?
[Mark Higley (Member)]: Yes. Representative Polcombe? Yes. Representative Kimbell? Yes.
[Charles Kimbell (Ranking Member)]: Representative Masland? Yep. Representative Ode? Representative Page?
[Woodman Page (Member)]: Yes.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: Representative Waszazak? Yes. Representative Canfield? Yes. Representative Kornheiser? Yes. We have voted a bill favorable eleven-zero-zero. Thank you. Represent Waszazak, do want to report that? Sure.
[Edward "Teddy" Waszazak (Member)]: Great. So you Should we come back promptly after the statistics?
[John Gray (Legislative Counsel)]: I could
[Chris Roop (Joint Fiscal Office)]: use it today too, sorry.
[Emilie Kornheiser (Chair)]: We have another bill that we need to move after the floor and before lunch, and I have a feeling that will be a small period of time. So please come back promptly. I'll see you then. Thank you.