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House Corrections panel backs amendment to HB 294 removing CoreCivic from telecom study stakeholders
Summary
On May 27 the House Corrections and Institutions Committee voted by straw ballot to concur with a Senate amendment to HB 294 that removes CoreCivic from the list of stakeholders for a Department of Corrections telecommunications evaluation; the committee recorded a 9‑0‑2 straw vote and plans to take the amendment to the House floor that afternoon.
The House Corrections and Institutions Committee voted on May 27 to concur with a Senate amendment to HB 294 that removes CoreCivic from the list of stakeholders the Department of Corrections (DOC) must consult when studying alternative methods of providing telecommunications to people who are incarcerated.
The committee chair explained that HB 294 directs DOC to evaluate telecommunications access for incarcerated people and staff and to consult a range of stakeholders, including the Public Utilities Commission, the Joint Fiscal Office, one or more nonprofit corrections telecommunications providers, representatives of families of incarcerated people, community-based reentry service providers, justice reform organizations and a prison research and innovation network. “So what the amendment does, it takes out CoreCivic as one of those stakeholders,” the chair said.
A committee member who spoke in favor of concurring with the amendment said they understood concerns raised by others and added, “I don’t think, you know, for‑profit provider should necessarily have a seat at the table when it comes to overall corrections policy.” The member noted that CoreCivic had originally been included to ensure the study accounted for Vermonters housed out of state — roughly 150 people held in a Mississippi facility — but said they have confidence the DOC will include out‑of‑state populations in the feasibility study even without CoreCivic’s direct participation.
The question to concur with the Senate amendment was moved and seconded; the committee conducted a straw vote and recorded the result as 9 yes, 0 no, 2 abstentions. The chair said the committee’s goal was to take the matter up on the House floor that afternoon, with a planned motion to suspend the rules pending entry on the notice calendar.
The action recorded in the committee advances the amendment but does not by itself change statutory text; the committee indicated the amendment will be considered during floor action. The meeting concluded after brief logistical remarks about who would present the bill on the floor.
