Senate Institutions panel vets bill to eliminate DOC supervisory fees, delays effective date to 2027

The Senate Institutions committee on March 19 reviewed House Bill H 635, which would strip the Department of Corrections (DOC) of the authority to impose supervisory fees on people on probation, furlough or parole and would require the department to forgive outstanding supervisory fees.

Representative Sean Sweeney introduced the measure, saying the program "has not done what it was intended to do" and noting that the fee program has produced limited revenue. "It brought in $250,000," he said, adding that collection and administrative costs reported by DOC far outpaced receipts.

John Brady, counsel to the committee, walked members through the bill text, saying the measure removes the statutory authority in Title 28 that allows the commissioner to charge up to $30 per month (in practice $15) and makes related cleanup changes. Brady summarized section 2: "DOC shall forgive all outstanding supervisory fees and eliminate all references to those outstanding fees in its records," and said the bill would also prohibit the department from employing collection agencies or treating nonpayment as a violation of probation, parole, furlough or other sentences.

A staff presenter reviewed the fiscal note and DOC testimony. On DOC's FY 2025 figures, the department "spent about $560,000 to collect $303,000," producing a notable net loss, the staff member said. The presenter also reported roughly $3.5 million in outstanding supervisory-fee debt, most of it old and likely uncollectible.

Committee members pressed for operational details. Several asked which DOC staff testified in the House; Representative Sweeney said the director of communications, a deputy commissioner and agency counsel provided the numbers and legal context but that field parole officers and people on supervision did not testify. Members flagged two practical issues: whether payments already made should be reimbursed, and whether immediate repeal would disrupt DOC's current budgeted operations. Committee counsel said the House agreed to delay the bill's effective date at DOC's request; the committee's lone amendment moves the date to July 1, 2027, to give the department time to stop collection activity and align internal systems.

Members also discussed behavioral effects if enforcement ends. One lawmaker said that if parole officers stop pursuing small monthly payments and there is no penalty for nonpayment, voluntary revenue could fall, noting collectable revenue might decline once supervisees know the program will be wound down.

The committee did not record a final Senate vote in the transcript; counsel and members noted that H 635 "came out of ways and means 11 o 0" in the House. Committee members asked DOC to return with details about implementation steps, whether outstanding payers might be reimbursed, and the practical effects of moving the effective date. The committee set follow-up questions for the department and signaled they will revisit the bill after receiving that information.

What happens next: staff will gather DOC responses on implementation timing, the practical steps to stop collections and reimbursement options; the committee will consider those responses in a subsequent meeting.