Corrections funding focuses on HVAC, ADA and safety upgrades; no new money proposed yet for a new women's facility

Nick Kramer, chief operating officer at the Agency of Administration, told the House Committee on Corrections & Institutions that the proposed FY26–27 capital bill includes continuing investments in correctional infrastructure and that the administration did not recommend new appropriations for a new women’s correctional facility in this biennium.

Kramer said the package would fully fund construction of modern HVAC and air‑conditioning systems at state correctional facilities except for the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, which carries a larger price tag and ongoing design work. He said the appropriation would complete systems at facilities where the work has been staged across prior bills.

Kramer told the committee the Department of Corrections has an ongoing settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding ADA compliance and that "that settlement agreement has been extended, I believe, through October 31st, FY25," language he used in his presentation to explain the timing of some required accessibility work. He said funds in the bill would complete the items needed to meet the settlement terms as understood by the administration.

Other line items Kramer highlighted include security‑related projects such as door control system replacements, sprinkler upgrades, roof replacements at the Northwest facility and related life‑safety investments. Kramer said some work — for example the St. Johnsbury door control replacement and Newport Northern State sprinkler work — represents cost true‑ups to prior appropriations.

On the women’s correctional facility, Kramer said the administration has appropriated about $16 million in prior bills and that those unspent prior appropriations are intended to carry the site‑selection and planning process through the current biennium. He said the administration did not recommend additional new funding in this capital bill; if the project accelerates the administration would return with a capital adjustment request.

Committee members pressed for clarity about whether general appropriations or line‑item HVAC funding would address immediate needs at the current women’s facility. Kramer and Commissioner Rhonda Manoli (Department of Buildings and General Services) indicated some general corrections HVAC funding could be applied to existing buildings, but committee members repeatedly requested more detailed line‑by‑line testimony, schedules and projected cash‑flow for projects that might affect operations in the near term.

Kramer and Commissioner Rhonda Manoli offered that the committee would receive department testimony and a prior‑year appropriations list during the upcoming hearings so the committee could track authorized but unissued balances and decide whether to reallocate funds during markup.