Bill would create advisory council for Office of Corrections Ombuds; supporters say it will increase transparency

House Bill 1396 would create a statutory advisory council to the Office of the Corrections Ombuds (OCO), supporters told the House Community Safety Committee, arguing the council would increase transparency, restore trust with impacted people and provide weekly stakeholder engagement.

Lena Langer, staff to the committee, summarized the bill. Under the measure, by Dec. 1, 2025 — subject to appropriations — the governor must convene an 11‑member advisory council to help the OCO set priorities and provide annual input. The council would not participate in investigations or receive confidential records; eligible members, including currently incarcerated people, would receive stipends, and the DOC would work with the OCO to develop a payment process for incarcerated council members, Langer said.

Rep. Daria Farivar, the bill sponsor, told the committee the OCO was created in 2018 and that the advisory council was discussed during earlier legislative work. "There is still a great need for an advisory council," Farivar said, adding the proposal aims to include people with lived experience and to make the body clearly advisory rather than an oversight or investigative body.

Multiple witnesses with lived experience and advocacy backgrounds testified in favor. Jim Chambers, a formerly incarcerated person, said the OCO had become "increasingly disconnected from the very community it was created to serve" and urged passage so stakeholders’ voices are not shut out. Jacob Ivan Schmidt, director of Justice Solutions and formerly incarcerated, said the OCO once "breathed hope" but later failed to follow through on investigations and redacted records in ways that shut out stakeholders.

Melody Simley, who worked on the original OCO legislation and briefly at the office, testified that most correctional ombuds offices in other states have advisory boards and that community outreach is key for an effective ombuds office. Laquisha Turner, a former OCO employee with lived experience, said the office had failed to report serious issues and that the advisory council would help align OCO priorities with the needs of incarcerated people and their families.

Supporters described the proposed 11 seats in detail: currently incarcerated individuals in men's and women's divisions (including someone serving a life sentence), formerly incarcerated people, family members of current or former incarcerated people, and community members with expertise in racial/ethnic diversity, disability accommodations, gender‑responsive approaches, and behavioral health — including a licensed provider preferred for that seat.

Farivar said the OCO had already informally created an advisory council but that codifying it in statute is necessary for transparency and accountability. Committee staff said the council could issue its own annual report and that the OCO must consult the council when establishing priorities and hold quarterly public meetings to gather stakeholder input.

The hearing included about four minutes of exchange between sponsor, staff and members; there was no formal vote in the excerpt. Public testimony on the bill was uniformly supportive in the provided record.