Committee advances bill to create Department of Labor Office of Reentry with $500,000 annual funding

House Bill 718, which creates an Office of Reentry inside the Department of Labor and Industry to coordinate state reentry services and provide targeted training grants, passed the House Appropriations Committee by voice vote after proponents described the office’s role and costs.

Sponsor Kerri Seacon Crowe framed the bill as giving the state “authority” to create a small statewide team to reduce duplication and better connect people leaving incarceration with work opportunities. The sponsor turned the committee to Sarah Swanson, commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry, to review the fiscal note and program design.

Swanson said the department’s analysis identified roughly 100,000 Montanans ages 16–54 who are out of the labor force, including people returning from incarceration; the proposed office would be a small, three‑person team located in the department’s workforce services division. The fiscal note, she said, projects just over $500,000 per year from existing state special revenue to cover three full‑time staff, benefits, computers, travel and a $125,000 annual grants line for training for participants. Swanson said grant dollars would be paid to training providers with completion obligations and clawback provisions.

Scott Eichner, Rehabilitation Programs Chief at the Department of Corrections, testified in support. Swanson and witnesses described planned collaboration with other state agencies (Department of Corrections, Department of Commerce, Department of Health and Human Services), two‑year colleges, tribal colleges and the Office of Public Instruction to create handoffs from incarceration to training and employment.

Committee members asked for baseline information about current reentry activities across state agencies so the committee can measure the office’s future performance. Department of Corrections and other agency representatives said they had provided related materials in interim work and agreed to supply more documentation to the committee. The sponsor and commissioner said the office would establish mission, job descriptions and data-driven outcome measures.

Representative Jones moved a due‑pass motion; the transcript records a voice vote and committee members present indicated unanimous support. Committee members asked staff to place related reports on a red‑hot list for follow-up and requested a reentry report from the Department of Corrections.

Votes at a glance: House Bill 718 — moved due pass by Representative Jones; committee recorded a unanimous voice vote in favor; outcome: passed out of committee.