Vermont H 635: An act relating to eliminating Department of Corrections supervisory fees

Bill Text

No. 113 Page 1 of 3
2026

VT LEG #390156 v.1
No. 113. An act relating to eliminating Department of Corrections
supervisory fees.
(H.635)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. 28 V.S.A. § 102 is amended to read:
§ 102. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTIONS; APPOINTMENT;
POWERS; RESPONSIBILITIES
* * *
(b) The Commissioner is charged with the following powers:
* * *
(12) To enter into contracts with private collection agencies for the
collection of supervisory fees imposed by this title and fines, penalties, and
restitution imposed under Title 13. The Commissioner may agree to pay
collection agencies a fixed rate for services rendered or a percentage of the
amount collected that shall be added to any amounts and may be recovered as
an administrative cost of collection. Any such fixed rate or percentage may be
deducted directly by the collection agency on a pro rata basis from any portion
of the money so collected.
* * *
(c) The Commissioner is charged with the following responsibilities:
* * *
(14) To collect a fee up to the amount of $30.00 per month as a
supervisory fee from each person under the supervision of the Department who

No. 113 Page 2 of 3
2026

VT LEG #390156 v.1
is on probation, furlough, pre-approved furlough, supervised community
sentence, or parole. Supervisory fees collected by the Department shall be
credited to a special supervision and victim restitution fund, established and
managed pursuant to 32 V.S.A. chapter 7, subchapter 5, for this purpose. The
Commissioner shall adopt rules governing the collection of supervisory fees,
including the maximum period of time offenders are subject to supervision fees
and the offender’s ability to pay such fees. [Repealed.]
* * *
Sec. 2. SUPERVISORY FEES; DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
(a) The Department of Corrections shall not assess, bill, or collect any
supervisory fee or employ any collection agency or other entity to assess, bill,
or collect any supervisory fee.
(b) The Department of Corrections shall forgive all outstanding supervisory
fees and eliminate all references to outstanding supervisory fees in its records
and on its web-based portal for supervisory fee payments.
(c) The Department of Corrections shall cease all efforts to collect any
outstanding supervisory fees, including through wage garnishment or tax setoff
debt collection, and shall coordinate with any agency made party to
supervisory fee collection to cease collection.
(d) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, failure to pay a supervisory
fee shall not constitute a violation of probation, parole, furlough, or any other
sentence.

No. 113 Page 3 of 3
2026

VT LEG #390156 v.1
Sec. 3. RULES; REVIEW; DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
(a) The Department of Corrections shall identify each rule adopted by the
Department under the statutory authority of 28 V.S.A. § 102(c)(14). For each,
the Commissioner of Corrections shall notify the Secretary of State of its
repeal by operation of law pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 848(a).
(b) The Department of Corrections shall review its rules, policies, and
procedures to identify and remove any references to “supervisory fees” or
“supervision fees” imposed pursuant to 28 V.S.A. § 102(c)(14).
Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2027.
Date Governor signed bill: May 27, 2026