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House Judiciary panel concurs with Senate to reinstate family-support program for incarcerated parents in S.109
Summary
The House Judiciary Committee agreed to the Senate's changes to S.109 that restore a trauma-informed family support program for incarcerated parents after language that had prompted a gubernatorial veto was removed; committee members discussed funding and implementation at in-state and out-of-state facilities.
The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday agreed to concur with Senate changes to S.109 that restore a family-support program for incarcerated parents, after lawyers removed language the governor's office had said presented a separation-of-powers problem.
The program, previously passed as H.219 but vetoed because it required the Department of Corrections (DOC) to include funding for the program in its budget submission, returns in S.109 with that budget-direction language removed. Eric Dispatcher, legislative counsel with the Office of Legislative Council, told the committee the problematic language "was removed" and that "other than that, the same language that was in H.219" remains in the bill.
The restored provisions would codify trauma-informed parenting and family-support services at correctional facilities and authorize DOC to deliver those services to incarcerated parents. Committee members said DOC expects to cover initial costs from its general appropriation; the committee discussed a funding figure of $390,000 in fiscal 2026 to sustain existing services at a women's treatment facility and to start the program at the Newport facility, with about $200,000 earmarked for the Newport start-up.
Members raised implementation questions about facilities outside the state's custody and whether programs must be provided in person. A committee member asked whether out-of-state placements could participate; the record shows the committee was told virtual delivery would be required for those facilities because in-person services would be impractical. Another member pointed out statutory language that the services be "free parenting and family support" could be misread to mean no one bears any cost; the committee noted the intent is that services be provided to incarcerated parents and costs would be covered by DOC funding rather than imposed on participants.
Committee members also discussed codifying the program for parity across male and female facilities and noted DOC and the governor's legal counsel had been consulted and found the revised text acceptable. The committee voted to find the House's concurrence with the Senate changes favorable on S.109; the committee recorded a final tally of 8-1-2 on the motion to concur.
The bill will move to the House floor for further action this afternoon, per committee scheduling remarks.
