House approves Parole Board overhaul and legal-counsel pilot with funding

The House on March 17 adopted committee recommendations to amend H559, a bill that restructures the Vermont Parole Board, mandates updated training, and launches a legal-counsel pilot to support hearings.

Key floor changes increase permanent board membership to seven (eliminating two alternate positions), clarify the governor’s vacancy consultation process with the director and chair, and codify annual training topics (including criminogenic behavior, mental-health disorders, substance use treatment, and trauma-informed practice). The bill also directs the board director to organize training in collaboration with the Commissioner of Corrections and the chair.

The bill creates a legal-counsel pilot project intended to provide paroling cases with access to specialized legal support and directs a report to the House Corrections Committee about the pilot’s operation and resource needs. The floor and Appropriations committee detailed a combined $75,000 funding package: $25,000 carried forward from an existing DOC suspended program and $50,000 appropriated in FY27.

Representative Greer, speaking for Corrections and Institutions, said the changes respond to how parole cases have evolved and to the board’s need for more legal and subject-matter resources. The Appropriations committee reported favorably and the House adopted the committee report and ordered third reading.

What happens next: The bill was amended and ordered to third reading; the pilot’s operations and any recommendations for legal support will be reported back to the Corrections Committee following implementation.