Board of Parole highlights victim services and expansion of video hearings; seeks to hold base budget

Roberta Kustoff, appearing for the Board of Parole, told the Finance, Ways and Means Committee that the board expects to operate under its existing base budget for FY26 and highlighted efforts to modernize hearings and expand victim services.

Kustoff said the board preserved recorded victim statements after the committee funded the capability; the board reported doubling the number of recorded statements used in the past fiscal year and assisting 36 victims so far in the current year. She said video-recorded statements help victims who are unable or unwilling to attend hearings in person and make statements available to board members reviewing cases.

The board described an ongoing project to conduct county jail hearings via video: 27 counties already conduct hearings by video, and the board's stated goal is to have all county jail hearings conducted by video by July 2026. Board executive director Jim Proviance said the technology is Microsoft Teams and is free for counties that have basic laptop and camera capability; the board provides brief training and a tutorial leave-behind to jail staff. The board also indicated some remote jails lack Internet or laptops and said it may pursue grant help for those counties.

Kustoff said the board handled 13,361 hearings in fiscal 2023-24, including 752 board-level hearings, issued 2,310 parole certificates and revoked 1,636 parolees for violations. The board also reviewed 453 clemency applications in the period and held 49 clemency hearings; 43 of those hearings resulted in recommendations for clemency.

Why it matters: Members noted the importance of victim access and communications with district attorneys; lawmakers encouraged coordination so victims and DAs can be notified about sentence-credit matters and upcoming hearings. Several members praised the board's outreach and encouraged it to expand victim notification efforts.

Budget: The board proposed no new positions or budget increases and submitted a 1% reduction plan that included travel and training reductions totaling $122,300; the governor's recommended reductions were narrower ($52,200). The board said it can operate with the proposed reductions but prefers to preserve training for members and staff.

Ending: The board asked the committee to maintain base funding and agreed to continue expanding video hearings and victim services while working with counties to bring more jails online.