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By Guy Page
A group of Vermont state representatives has introduced H.550, a bill designed to establish comprehensive standards for the intake, classification, and housing of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals within the Department of Corrections (DOC).
The bill has been discussed this month in House Human Services Committee. The Vermont Department of Corrections today filed testimony cautioning against deferring too much to the preferences of the inmate.
The bill, sponsored by Representatives Troy Headrick (I-Burlington), Tiff Bluemle (D-Burlington), Conor Casey (D-Montpelier), and others, seeks to address what it describes as “barriers to gender transition or recognition” often found in correctional environments.
One of the most significant changes proposed by H.550 is the requirement that inmates be housed in facilities based on their own preference. Under the bill, an inmate could choose to be placed in a facility designated for men or women, including residential treatment programs.
The bill further mandates that:
• Inmates must be addressed in a manner consistent with their gender identity.
• Lawful searches must follow the policy of the inmate’s gender identity or their preference, rather than solely the designation of the facility.
• The Department must give “serious consideration” to an inmate’s perception of their own health and safety when making bed assignments or programming decisions. This includes potential accommodations such as single-cell status or allowing an inmate to choose their own cellmate.
The DOC would be prohibited from denying housing or search preferences based on what the bill calls discriminatory reasons, such as an inmate’s anatomy, genitalia, or sexual orientation. If a preference is denied, the Department must provide a written certification detailing a specific and articulable basis for the decision.
In testimony filed Wednesday February 25, the Vermont Department of Corrections cited “concerns with deferring entirely to incarcerated individual’s preference” regarding searching and facility placement. It also said that guaranteeing single cell placement is difficult to achieve as a practical matter.
Medical Care and Identity at Intake
H.550 also proposes strict protocols for the intake process. Upon admission, staff would be required to ask inmates in a private setting to specify their gender identity, whether they identify as transgender or nonbinary, and their preferred pronouns and honorifics. Inmates cannot be disciplined for refusing to provide this information.
Once a preference is established, Department staff, contractors, and volunteers are prohibited from consistently failing to use the specified pronouns and honorifics in verbal or written communications.
Regarding healthcare, the bill requires the DOC to use “best efforts” to identify culturally competent licensed health care providers. It defines “medically necessary” care as services that are informed by the unique needs of the individual and generally accepted medical evidence to prevent the worsening of health conditions.
Next Steps
The bill clarifies that if an inmate raises safety concerns at any point during their incarceration, their housing and placement must be reassessed. If passed, the act is slated to take effect on July 1, 2026.
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Categories: Corrections
How many guys will pick to live in a women’s prison: at first, MANY. But from what I know from people in all parts of corrections, they are in for a rude awakening. Female prisoners are rather notorious.
What a crock of pure unadulterated crap ! You give the criminal a blood test. If the test shows the criminal has xy chromosomes, he’s a male, if the test comes back with xx chromosomes, she’s a female, and send the criminal to the appropriate facility. Period !
In the old days, gender and sex meant the same thing, but times and criteria have apparently changed. There are some venues in our society in which we collectively choose to segregate by gender/sex in the interest of promoting safety, comfort and competitiveness for women: contact sports, public restrooms/changing facilities and incarceration facilities. The bottom line is that by the very nature of these specific venues, the categorizing criteria should quite simply be based on biological sex, not gender. Allowing a convict to essentially choose which prison they will be housed in is a recipe for disaster, and there are plenty of examples from other states which have allowed this such as sexual assaults and pregnancy. What man facing a long sentence wouldn’t want to do his time in a women’s prison? Do we really want to provide this opportunity because of our woke legislature and voter base? There is already a shortage of corrections professionals. Passing these proposals will not help recruit quality people. This is just another manifestation of our defiant demo/prog legislature poking a stick at the President and the resurgence of a merit-based and common-sense society.
Vermonters across the state have had this foremost of mind for years, what has taken them so long?
Isn’t this what our constitutional change was all about?
Hopefully they finally pass the MAP act so people can express their love in public and in prison! This was even higher on Vermonters minds so I don’t know why they didn’t address this at the same time!
Don’t speak like all Vermonters support this. You definitely aren’t speaking for me and most of the people I know. I don’t have a problem with how people chose to live their lives however I do have a problem with them receiving special attention and benefits because of it.
I think the above comment was intended as sarcasm…sometimes sarcasm is the only way to respond to proposals like this.
Act 22: “Personal reproductive liberty. That an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”
If you believe the machines, this overwhelmingly passed in 2022 by popular vote.
That’s the constitutional change the citizenry moronically voted for.
Here is some of the poison fruit. Just the beginning.
So I don’t think Neil’s comment was sarcasm. More like recognition, IMHO.
I wonder if a convicted serial rapist stated he was transitioning and requested being incarcerated in a woman’s prison would be honored. Craziness seems to be out of control when it comes to this subject.
I have heard people say that Vermont’s Prison System is like living in a country club compared to the rest of the country. I don’t know if that is true and I never intend on finding out, but in my opinion, this is more of the gender crap that is being shoved down our throats both in schools and in everyday life, now they want to extend that into prison’s? I just don’t understand why people who make these choices both in deciding what or who they want to be or what they did should get any special treatment from everyone else. If they want to choose that kind of lifestyle then that is their choice, just like it is their choice to make the decision that lands them in the prison system. No one should be getting any special treatment for anything and especially not in prison. You were born a boy or a girl, what you choose to identify as is your business, but you made that decision so why should you have any special treatment more than the average joe.
Nice reputation that modern-day Vermont has earned…our prisons are country clubs and our motels are homeless shelters…
No gender identification. Just a number on your prison clothing. Inmate #16459 gets no more special treatment than Inmate # 48621. Let the criminals figure it out on their own. Good luck.