Vermont Prison Equity Bill: Free Calls, Paid Labor, Affordable Commissary

Vermont Prison Equity Bill: Free Calls, Paid Labor, Affordable Commissary

Vermont legislators are reviewing a wide-ranging prison equity bill that, if enacted, would make the Vermont Department of Corrections (VDOC) the first to pay incarcerated workers minimum wage. H.294 would also make all available forms of communication—not just phone calls—free to incarcerated people and their loved ones, and cap the prices of commissary items. The bill is currently with the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions, where…