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Parole Board asks for pay adjustments, added staff as committee adopts LFC baseline
Summary
The Parole Board requested funds to raise staff salaries toward midpoints and to cover board member compensation and DoIT costs; the committee adopted the LFC recommendation for the Parole Board's base budget with no recorded opposition and asked the board for additional follow‑up on staffing and caseload management.
The House Appropriations & Finance Committee reviewed the Parole Board's FY26 budget request, which sought salary adjustments to improve recruitment and retention, modest increases for board member compensation and DoIT charges, and one added position to support integration with the Department of Corrections offender management system; the committee adopted the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) recommendation for the board's base budget with no opposition.
Parole Board Director Roberta Cohen told the committee the board has experienced recruitment and retention challenges and that some positions upgraded under previous administrations did not receive salary adjustments to reflect classification changes. The board requested $161,700 to bring staff salaries closer to the midpoint of classification scales, $97,000 for board member compensation and $8,900 for increased DoIT costs; the executive recommendation included those increases while LFC funded only statutory GST adjustments in personnel and benefits.
Why it matters: The Parole Board conducts release hearings, revocation hearings and other statutory reviews that directly affect the timing of releases and supervision. Director Cohen said timely hearings and record management are essential to meeting statutory timelines for release certificates and to clearing backlogs the board encountered in the wake of a Supreme Court interpretation that required additional hearings (Thompson ruling referenced in testimony).
Numbers and operational context - In FY2024 the board conducted 2,544 regular release hearings and 720 revocation hearings; the board reported a 43% completion rate of parole‑violation (PV) hearings within the 30‑day statutory target during the most recent reporting period. - The board processed 1,553 parole certificates and held 85 medical‑parole hearings, granting release in 5.8% of those medical‑parole cases. - Director Cohen reported the board is eliminating a backlog of serious offender review hearings and expects to clear the outstanding backlog (408 cases referenced) by March 2025.
Board compensation and structure Director Cohen described board members as working many hours each week; the board currently uses per‑diem compensation rates (under 4 hours: $45; over 4 hours: $95). She and staff said members often spend substantial administrative time reviewing cases and coordinating victim notification outside formal hearing hours and that the board is exploring administrative options with the Attorney General's Office to recognize that time appropriately.
Committee action Vice Chair Dixon moved adoption of the LFC recommendation for the Parole Board; Representative Sanchez seconded the motion. The chair called for opposition and none was raised, and the motion carried.
Quotes from the hearing - "Our parole board team … have experienced recruitment and retention challenges, and this increase would allow us to bring salaries to at least the midpoint of the classification scale," Director Roberta Cohen said. - "Following the Supreme Court Thompson ruling interpretation, we addressed a backlog of *** offender review hearings," Cohen said, noting a schedule increase and backlog clearance timeline.
What's next The board will continue electronic records transition work and coordination with the Department of Corrections' Omni/OMIS implementation; the committee asked for continued progress reports on docketing timeliness and administrative costs. Analysts noted prior contingency language in compensation bills and said the board is working with the Attorney General to determine whether administrative approaches can address board compensation without separate statutory change.
Ending note Committee members expressed support for timely hearings and efficient docketing; the board said the requested salary adjustments and operational funds will improve its ability to meet statutory timelines and to reduce backlogs while the board continues modernization of records and rules.
