Committee reviews bill to bar use of for‑profit out‑of‑state prison beds, but pauses for capacity study

Montpelier — House bill H.191, which would bar the Vermont Department of Corrections from placing people in privately operated, for‑profit out‑of‑state correctional facilities and require a plan to bring incarcerated Vermonters home, drew detailed testimony and questions from the House Committee on Corrections & Institutions at its April 3 meeting.

Ben Novakravsky, legislative counsel for the committee, summarized the bill’s core provisions, saying it would limit the commissioner of corrections’ authority to transfer people in DOC custody so that assignments “are only permitted to facilities operated by public or nonprofit entities and pursuant to an interstate or federal contract.” Novakravsky said the bill text also directs DOC to develop an implementation plan to repatriate people now housed out of state.

The bill’s sponsors and several committee members said the measure is grounded in concerns about oversight, family visitation and rehabilitation when Vermonters are housed hundreds of miles away. Novakravsky read the bill’s findings that Vermont’s daily detainee count rose from about 300 in 2020 to about 500 in 2024 and that out‑of‑state placements discourage visits and can limit access to legal counsel.

Department of Corrections policy director Isaac Dann told the committee that the department shares many of the bill’s values but raised operational concerns. Dann said DOC is already operating above its general‑population capacity and that bringing people home would strain in‑state beds. “Today, we’re at 135% of our…