Rep. Dan Noyes introduces H.380 to tighten penalties, expand pretrial outreach; committee schedules briefing

Representative Dan Noyes introduced bill H.380 on April 3 to add penalties for repeat violations of conditions of release and to expand pretrial supervision and outreach, the House Corrections & Institutions Committee heard. "I introduced 3 80 after meeting with our state's attorney," Noyes said, adding the bill grew from frequent repeat appearances by the same individuals in local courts.

The committee’s discussion focused less on immediate changes to sentencing and more on ways to reduce failures to appear through pretrial support. Noyes said the bill contains two pieces: a provision discussed with the state’s attorney that could allow an additional felony charge for repeated failure to appear or repeated violations of release conditions, and a pretrial supervision element aimed at proactive contact—calling defendants ahead of court dates to confirm transportation and engagement with the court process. "And I was really trying to also think more about... around pretrial services," Noyes said.

Committee members recommended further review of the pretrial supervision law enacted last year and asked for a staff briefing. One committee member said, "we did a lot of work in here last year on setting up pretrial supervision with DOC," and suggested scheduling Ben Novograssky to walk the committee through the statute and how the program has been implemented.

Members discussed funding and rollout. Committee members said statewide implementation would cost about $1.3 million and noted that roughly $600,000 was included in the FY25 budget. Committee discussion named Orleans and Essex counties as sites where the program has rolled out; Caledonia was mentioned during the exchange and the record contains some overlap in county names during the discussion.

Several speakers raised operational concerns about expanding Department of Corrections (DOC) staffing. One member cautioned that adding new positions to DOC amid a staffing shortage could worsen vacancies in facilities: "I worry about adding new positions to DOC when we're in the staffing crisis... that creates a further hole in the facility," the member said. Others noted that pretrial support could reduce costs associated with repeated court rescheduling and case delays.

Committee members agreed to schedule a briefing on the existing pretrial supervision law and to continue work on the bill; the committee also noted that the felony-related portion of the proposal will need coordination with Judiciary. No formal vote was taken on H.380 at this meeting.

Background and context: Noyes said his community conversations and a case history of repeated offending—he described a person repeatedly stealing and damaging cars—prompted the proposal. He also described a recent minor retail theft he observed as part of his reasoning for pursuing broader tools to address repeat offenders. The committee indicated it will follow up with an informational presentation on the pretrial supervision framework and with further consideration of H.380.