Week 3 - January 16th to January 19th

Corrections in the Spotlight

Questions for Sec. Al Gobeille

Last weekend Al Gobeille (Secretary of the Agency of Human Services - pronounced GoBay) released  his long awaited report on how the major Corrections and some mental health facilities within the agency might be reconfigured. His recommendation is for a new 925 bed Corrections facility located in northwest Vermont. The cost? About $150 million. The decision on whether or not to follow that recommendation lies squarely within my committee (Corrections and Institutions). But first, the weekly summary.

There is also an official agenda online.

Weekly Summary

Rep. Maida Townsend

• Tuesday
• 8:30 - 9:20 Met with Mark Perrault and Chloe Wexler of the Joint Fiscal Office to learn details of Education funding in Vermont.
• 10:00 - 10:45 On the floor with some debate about H.593 Consumer Protections. The bill passed the house on a voice vote and is now in the Senate.
• 10:50  - 11:10 In committee. Some distraction as a robbery was in progress several blocks away at a credit union. But we listened to testimony from Representative Townsend regarding H.551, a bill to have the Green Mountain Boys flag flown over the capitol on the January 15th of each year to observe Vermont's independence.
• 11:15 Mike O'Grady from Legislative Council went over a letter detailing how we want some funds from last year spent by the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.
• 11:20 to Noon - Committee discussions in anticipation of Al Gobeille's report to be discussed publicly in the afternoon.
• 1:15 to 2:10 in public Democratic Caucus.  Bill presented on



Democratic Caucus

• Budget Adjustment Act - H.633
• Dam Safety - H.554
• 2:15 - 4:15 Public Committee Meeting on report from Al Gobeille. Recommendation for $150 million Corrections facility in Northwest Vermont. 
• 4:30 Done 
• 7:00 School Board meeting in Colchester to go over proposed Colchester School District budget

• Wednesday
• 8:30 - 9:50 In committee: Testimony from Chris Cole, Commissioner of Buildings and Government Services (BGS),  about that proposed facility we heard about the day before. He stresses that it will be run by Vermont employees and that this is an early step to get discussions started. It's up to us.
• 10:00 -10:25 Hilary Melton from Pathways Vermont, an organization that provides homes for the homeless and for inmates leaving Corrections.
• 11:00 - Noon - Dan Smith, a consultant on Information Technology presented his report card on various IT projects we are funding.
• 1:00 - 3:00 On the floor with a bit of debate and back and forth on the dam safety bill.
• 3:15 - 4:15 In Committee for testimony and discussion of Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) of opioid addiction in Corrections facilities. Heard form Annie Raminiceanu and others.
• 4:30 Done

• Thursday
• 8:30 In committee to hear testimony from Commissioner Lisa Menard of the Department of Corrections regarding the cost of transporting offenders within the Corrections system. DOC personnel, country Sheriff's departments and local police are all involved with the movement of individuals to and from court, to and from mental health facilities and between the state's Corrections facilities. It costs several million dollars a year in payroll and is an issue swirling around the proposed new prison facility. We heard testimony from several people including the Chittenden County Sheriff's Dept.
• 10:00 Video Arraignment - when a person is charged with a crime they are brought to a booking facility. The next step is arraignment before a judge. This involves transporting the person to the court. It takes two officers to transport a person: one to drive and one to keep an eye on the alleged criminal. That individual may be violent, may be drunk, or suffering from a mental health crisis. The use of a two way video system at the booking location could alleviate the cost and risk. But . . . there are two issues. One is privacy. There must be a way for the person being arraigned to consult in private with legal council and out of the hearing of others in the booking area. Video arraignment is also voluntary and advocates do not like the idea of individuals who are booked late at night or on weekends given the choice of a non-private video arrangement or a several night stay in the prison until a person-to-person arraignment can be arranged.
• 10:45 - Legislative council review of the meaning of forensic mental health unit vs. forensic mental health hospital. This is part of understanding the needs of the various mental health and corrections facilities throughout the state and the possible consolidation into a new campus in northwest Vermont.
• 12:00 to 1:00 Attended Climate Caucus to hear presentation by the Vermont Climate and Health Alliance.
• 1:00 - 2:00 - On the Floor - extended discussion of the Budget Adjustment Act ( H.633) and Dam Safety bill ( H.554). The Dam Safety bill required a roll-call vote.
• 2:30 - Back in Committee to hear from Michael Snyder, Commissioner, Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation about a bill to clean up language relating to how state land is sold, exchanged or leased (S.149). Also heard from Senator Florey regarding the same.
• 3:30 - 4:35 - Efficiency Vermont testified about their work helping Buildings and General Services (BGS) save energy in state buildings.
• 4:40 - Done

• Friday
• 9:30 On the floor - No controversies
• 10:00 In Committee to hear testimony from Rebecca Ellis (Deputy Commissioner, Department of Environmental Conservation - DEC) concerning an Environmental Notice Bulletin they have recently implemented. This provides an online way for the public to see what DEC permits have been applied for throughout the state and what status they are in. 
• 11:00 Kari Dolan, (Clean Water Initiative Program Manager, DEC) and Emily Bird (Clean Water Initiative Program Analyst, DEC) testified about the Clean Water initiative. Emily presented this year's Clean Water Investment Report detailing projects throughout the state. Some information about these projects is available online in the DEC's Project Database.
• 12:00 - 1:00  Done with Committee - off to the tax workshop regarding Sales and Use, Rooms & Meals tax.
• 1:00 - 2:15 Meeting with the Speaker (Rep. Mitzi Johnson) about Clean Water Work-group. Corrections & Institutions Chair (Rep. Alice Emmons), Vice Chair (Rep. Butch Shaw), Committee member Dan Connor and myself met in the Speaker's office to talk about ways to coordinate with the other committees involved with Clean Water projects.
• 2:15 - More discussion - debriefing after the meeting with the Speaker.
• 2:45 - Done for the week.

How Taking Testimony Works

Sheriff McClaughlin testifies about the cost of transporting people inmates, offenders and those charged.

The picture was taken over the back of our Vice Chair. You can see that the room gets fairly crowded when someone of interest is there. The Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Corrections are seated near the door. The lobbyist for the Vermont State Employees Association is seated on the bench to the left.

The person testifying sits at the foot of the table. The Chairperson is at the head. The chair usually gives a short introduction about the topic we're discussing then turns it over to the person testifying.

"For the record, I'm Chittenden County Sheriff Kevin McClaughlin . . . "

All testimony is recorded by our committee assistant and is available to the public upon demand. (Bring a jump drive to the committee assistant and specify which day). It is not available online. We do go off the record at times, but never when someone is testifying. Anyone can come into the room or leave at any time. The State House is a very open place. There are no back rooms reeking of cigar smoke. You  have to work to have a really private conversation under the golden dome.

Each committee, when taking testimony, is run differently, depending on the chair. But usually, if a committee member has a question at any time during the testimony s/he gestures subtly to the chair and waits to be called upon. So the chair controls the flow of conversation. People observing do not ask questions or take part in the testimony unless called upon by the chair. Some observers have gotten pretty antsy listening to statements they think are false or contrary to the interests of those they represent. They bite their tongue. Our chair is good about getting all sides heard.

Anyone can request to testify and are usually given a slot of time, but you have to do it in advance. Generally it is the committee requesting testimony from someone with regard to a bill or policy. Administrative personnel are constantly being called in to clarify a point or explain a process. We get to know the Commissioner of Corrections and the Commissioner of  Buildings & General Services pretty well.

We're a pretty reasonable committee (so far). No one has stormed out of the room, raised their voice in argument, or started throwing the food at the center of the table.

When a person is done testifying they, and any entourage, depart and we start the next. That's how we spend a good bit of the day.

Details

The last date for filing bills with Legislative Council for this biennium passed this week. In order to file a bill one must now go before the Rules Committee first and get clearance. Legislative Council has been drafting the bills, polishing the language and returning the bills to the bill's sponsor to be reviewed.  I'll do a more detailed Life of a Bill in a future post.

A New Corrections Facility?

As mentioned at the head of this post, the Secretary of the Agency of Human Services released his much awaited report on Corrections and Mental Health Facilities in the state. His recommendation is to consolidate several prisons onto a Campus in the northwest portion of Vermont, probably St. Albans. The House Corrections and Institutions Committee has, for nearly a decade, been requesting that someone in the administration take a hard look at the condition of existing facilities and the flow of inmates and mental health patients through the system, and changes in Corrections and Mental Health policies that effect the facilities. Now we have it. And we're not quite sure what to do with it.

In the State House and in the news the report generated immediate controversy as many thought the decision to build the $150 million campus had already been made. If you take a look at the report you'll get some idea of the complexity of this issue. A lot is tied up in Medicaid funding with all kinds of rules about what kind of facility they'll fund. Medicaid does not support the operations of prisons, but does support Mental Health facilities, if they are 16 beds or less, or of they are associated with a hospital, or if , or if, or if. 

Several issues need to be addressed soon, and by soon I mean early this session. There is a Secure Mental Health facility near Middlesex that is a collection of trailers put together after Hurricane Irene flooded the Waterbury facility. There are about 16 beds there for individuals that do not require a mental health hospital but are also not ready for release. One is a person charged with a crime nearly a decade ago but judged not mentally competent enough to stand trial. FEMA helped put the facility together with the understanding that it was temporary. But Irene was 2011 an FEMA is talking about taking their money back (about $2 million) unless we come up with some plan for a permanent facility.

We are desperate for some sort of Forensic Mental Health facility to process and hold inmates or those charged with a crime and suffering from severe mental health problems. Hospital emergency rooms are backed up with these cases. These are complicated issues that require the help of other committees and agencies. We're trying to figure a way to do that in an organized manner. Until then we tamp down concerns about a large new Corrections facility.

Clean Water

Last session I was part of a Clean Water Funding Workgroup that tried to coordinate interest, knowledge and decision-making about the funding of the Clean Water project. I didn't think it went particularly well. The Chair wants to fire it up again in some manner. That's why we had a meeting with the Speaker on Friday. The group, if created, needs the force and backing of the Speaker. Last session we were putting together a Capital Budget, a two-year budget, so now we just update it with a Capital Bill Adjustment. It will still take a bit of work.

The SFY 2019 Budget

This coming Tuesday the governor will address a joint session and deliver his budget address. That will give all of us a concrete measure of his commitment to various initiatives. The State Fiscal Year (SFY) budget is supposed to, according to the governor, contain no new fees or taxes. He has also asked his agencies to submit budgets to him that are level funded, meaning the same amount of money will be spent next year, as this year. This budget address and the accompanying numbers should be very interesting.

Education Funding in Vermont

I started educating myself on how public education in Vermont is funded when I first campaigned in 2012. I'm still working on it. Being a Legislator makes it easier. The Representative next to me Peter Conlon is on the Education Committee and has a reasonable grasp of the subject. I can ask questions of him when nothing important is going on in the House chamber. On Tuesday I also met with the person from Joint Fiscal that knows Ed Funding. I recorded our conversation so I can play it back over and over when I'm driving or sleeping. 

I'm hoping to add a post to this blog and my website explaining it all.

Feather in My Cap?

I have been appointed to the Legislative Information Technology Committee. I spoke with an ex-member and he said that it didn't meet for a year. We'll see.

Next Week

• Tuesday - Governor's Budget Address