An act relating to developing the Department of Corrections’ community restitution program
H.176 would require the Vermont Department of Corrections to reinstate its Field Based Community Restitution Program, commonly known as “work crew,” by July 1, 2025. The bill is aimed at restoring a community restitution option that had been discontinued by a departmental rescinding memorandum that revoked earlier policies governing the program.
The bill also directs the department to adopt policies that limit how work crew sentences are administered. Specifically, it allows the department to cap the number of days imposed on a single mittimus and the total number of outstanding work crew days an offender may have at one time, but it sets minimum thresholds for those limits: at least 20 days on a single mittimus and at least 60 total outstanding days across multiple mittimuses. The bill takes effect on passage.
If enacted, H.176 would amend the practical administration of Vermont’s community restitution and sentencing framework by compelling the Department of Corrections to restore a work crew program and by constraining how the department may limit eligibility and sentence administration. It would override the department’s 2023 rescission of prior work crew policies and reestablish a statutory requirement for the program’s operation, affecting offenders ordered to perform community restitution, courts issuing mittimuses, and DOC staff responsible for program implementation.
The bill’s introduction suggests generally favorable sentiment toward restoring a community-based sentencing option and making it available again on a defined timeline. Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, there is no documented opposition or support in the available record beyond the bill’s sponsors and its reform-oriented purpose. The overall tone of the measure is corrective and implementation-focused rather than punitive.
The main point of contention is likely to be the extent of legislative control over Department of Corrections program administration. Supporters appear to favor reinstating work crew and preserving it as a sentencing alternative, while potential critics may object to the bill’s mandate that the department reinstitute a program it previously discontinued and to the statutory minimums it imposes on work crew day limits. Another possible issue is whether the bill unduly restricts DOC discretion in managing eligibility, workload, and operational capacity.