House advances bill to eliminate Department of Corrections supervisory fees

Representative Sweeney, speaking for the Corrections and Institutions Committee, walked the House through H.635 during a second reading, saying the fee is assessed to roughly 4,700 justice-involved Vermonters and that current collection practices lose money overall. "In 2025, the estimate to administer, process, collect, and manage this fee was approximately $550,000," Sweeney said, and noted DOC collected about $280,000 in fees last year, creating a net shortfall.

The bill would strike statutory language authorizing supervisory fees, repeal the section that implements the fee, require the Department of Corrections to stop assessing or collecting fees and forgive outstanding balances. It would also specify that failure to pay a supervisory fee shall not constitute a violation of probation, parole, furlough or any other sentence.

Sweeney said the committee also directed DOC to identify and repeal rules that reference supervisory fees and to remove related policy references. The committee amended the bill's effective date to July 1, 2027 to allow the department to account for the change in its fiscal-year 2028 budget.

A member of the House Ways and Means committee described the fiscal-note context, noting a table of fee revenue and operating costs did not include staff time for administration; once that labor cost is included, the program "costs more to run than the fees that are generated," the member said. The committee reported receiving testimony from DOC leadership, the Office of Legislative Council and the Joint Fiscal Office and said the committees found the bill favorable as amended.

On the floor the amendment recommended by committee was adopted by voice vote and the House ordered third reading.

Next steps: with third reading ordered on the floor, H.635 will return for final consideration under the House calendar procedures.