Committee concurs in bill to establish Office of Reentry Services funded from Employment Security Account

The Senate Finance and Claims Committee concurred in House Bill 718, which would establish an Office of Reentry Services in the Department of Labor and Industry. Representative Carrie Seekins Crow and Commissioner Sarah Swanson described the proposal as a collaborative, interagency effort aimed at reducing recidivism by connecting people exiting the justice system to workforce training and employment.

Why it matters: Commissioner Swanson told the committee the bill's cost was reduced through stakeholder work from an interim estimate of about $8 million in general fund to approximately $510,000 per year from state special revenue held in the Employment Security Account (ESA). The ESA is funded by a small employer tax and currently carries a balance the commissioner said is over $33 million.

Program details: Swanson said the proposal assumes three repurposed FTEs (a program manager, a business analyst and administrative support) with personal services estimated at $291,407, about $94,000 in operating expenses, and $125,000 set for grants to training programs or institutions that serve program participants. She said the department expects to use existing vacancies rather than create new positions and that a companion bill (House Bill 656) would expand allowable uses of the ESA to permit this funding.

Outcome: The committee recorded concurrence in House Bill 718 and noted interagency collaboration among Labor, Commerce, Corrections, Public Health and Human Services, the Office of Public Instruction, higher education and other stakeholders in designing the program.