Senate committee hears DOC briefing on supervision fees and impact of H635 debt forgiveness

Deputy Commissioner Kristen Calver of the Department of Corrections briefed a Senate committee on March 27, 2026, on the state’s supervision-fee program and the budgetary consequences of House bill H635, which would forgive outstanding supervision fees.

Calver told senators that statute (cited as 28A chapter 3 in the presentation) authorizes the department to charge up to $30 per month but that the department currently assesses $15 per month and operates under DOC policy number 426. She said the department made 40,084 individual assessments in fiscal 2025 with a presented assessed value of $601,260 and an average assessed individual balance of about $345.

The deputy commissioner described three payment channels: an online payment portal that accepts debit and credit cards and eChecks, mailed money orders to a TD Bank–administered lock box, and a state tax‑offset program for debts 90 days or more past due and at least $45. "We currently collect $15 per month," Calver said. She explained transaction fees are charged against the supervision-fee fund (about 3% for card transactions and per‑item lockbox fees for mailed payments).

Calver said DOC’s tax‑offset screening for fiscal 2025 yielded 10,182 candidate accounts; staff removed 303 accounts for data problems and ultimately submitted 9,875 accounts to the tax department for possible refund intercepts. The department reported a total outstanding supervision‑fee balance of approximately $3.5 million across sites and said the largest portion of that backlog is older than 120 days.

Committee members pressed staff for operational detail. Calver said staff estimates that business‑office personnel spend roughly 18% of their time on collection work, probation officers about 5% of their time on related tasks, and some administrative staff about 8% of their time; she emphasized those positions are base‑funded and would perform other duties if collection work ceased.

On the proposed forgiveness in H635, committee members raised fairness and fiscal concerns. Calver confirmed that a full forgiveness under the bill would "wipe out the entire outstanding debt" and warned that the statute provides limited enforcement measures: the department cannot incarcerate supervisees for nonpayment or extend probation solely for failure to pay. Committee members asked whether refunds would be feasible for people who already paid; DOC staff said processing refunds would be administratively difficult and costly and that they lacked a ready mechanism to return prior payments.

Scott Moore of the fiscal office told senators the bill’s delayed effective date was likely intended to give the budget office and appropriations committees time to plan for lost revenue. Because the bill was not submitted as part of the governor’s recommended budget, Calver said the department could not take an official support position this session.

Why it matters: DOC counts supervision‑fee collections as part of its budget authority and spending plan; forgiveness would reduce revenues that currently help underwrite collection program costs and partially offset probation operations. Senators said the delay in the bill’s effective date may have been intended to allow time to absorb or replace that revenue, but several members warned the delay also creates an incentive for supervised individuals not to pay in the months before forgiveness.

The committee received the briefing for information and did not take any formal vote on H635 at the session. Staff offered to provide additional data and to return with follow‑up material if the committee requests it.