CORRECTIONS Challenge For Change: There has been a lot of talk about Challenges for Change, the solution to saving $38 million in the budget.

My committee is working on the Department of Corrections’ challenges. We and the Institutions and Corrections Committee are asked to consider changes in corrections law that would create savings of 10 million dollars. Much of it is centered on freeing up space in our prisons. According to the administration’s Executive Summary regarding its legislative proposals: “This legislation recognizes that spending on corrections is crowding out other budget priorities that are important to Vermont.” “Over the last two decades, Vermont’s population increased by 10%. During the same period, crime rates were flat and our incarceration rates increased 154%.”

The summary further states that “incarcerated bed space is an expensive and limited resource that should be reserved for violent and dangerous offenders.”

While I agree that prisons should be for the most violent and dangerous offenders, determining who they are is complicated. I very concerned about how we define “nonviolent” as we consider any changes in the law. Victim advocates testified that often what someone is convicted of and incarcerated for is different than what he or she is originally charged with. Also, through a plea agreement, a charge can be pled down to a lesser charge resulting in a less serious conviction and sentence. The conviction may not be considered a violent crime.

For example, a person charged with domestic assault pled down to a disorderly conduct charge due to a victim not wanting to testify and be re-victimized. Disorderly conduct is not considered a violent crime in Vermont. Yet, that person who is now incarcerated for disorderly conduct is violent. Under proposed legislation, he or she would not be incarcerated.

These are complex issues and public safety could be at risk. We will continue to take testimony and consider these proposals. I am committed to making sure what we do adopt is good policy, not just a cost saving measure.

S.272 Human Trafficking. The House passed this bill. It is a Senate bill that passed the Senate and was referred to my committee. I reported the bill to the full House on behalf of my committee. This is a priority issue for our Department of Public Safety and the victims community.

S.272 addresses the lack of comprehensive anti-trafficking laws in Vermont. It does so by creating a task force to examine the current response and to make recommendations to the legislature.

Human trafficking is referred to as modern day slavery where a person performs labor under force, fraud or coercion in violation of his or her human rights.

The bill as introduced in the Senate would have set in place a comprehensive set of laws, policies, trainings, and tracking to respond to human trafficking. S.272 as passed the Senate did not include a new crime. During testimony, it became clear that we lack sufficient clarity around what laws, policies and resources are required to respond to trafficking in Vermont.

Trafficking is an epidemic of global proportions; experts estimate that there are more than 27 million people currently enslaved across the world. As a border state positioned on heavily traveled interstate corridors, we heard testimony that human trafficking is happening within the borders. It is believed there are “safe houses” in Vermont to harbor trafficking victims as they are trafficked across state borders and the Canadian border. We are one of only five states that lacks a human trafficking law – and the only state in the northeast.

However, due to the complicated nature of this crime and its consequences for victims, we need to address the issue thoughtfully. We are intentionally choosing to begin with a task force and law enforcement study so that we can insure that whatever laws we eventually pass are the right laws for our state: that they complement other Vermont laws, that we have the necessary expertise to investigate and prosecute, and resources to support victims of this heinous crime. This approach of using a task force first has been used in other states that now have effective criminal laws addressing human trafficking.

We know that our laws are only as good as our ability to enforce them. Right now law enforcement in VT is behind the curve on the issue of trafficking. These cases are incredibly complex, often with language barriers, victims who have been completely traumatized and whose very existence is dependent on the traffickers who brought them here. The consequences of police involvement can be devastating for victims if cases are not handled well, and the legal protections available (like specialized visas) are complicated.

We are fortunate in Vermont however to have leadership in the Department of Public safety committed to this issue and taking proactive leadership steps on a state and national basis. We heard testimony from department Commissioner that he has been working with the U.S. Attorney and with the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the federal Department Of Justice Office on Violence Against Women to formulate a plan for bringing state law enforcement and prosecutors up to speed on how to properly investigate and prosecute trafficking cases.

I look forward to following this issue and hope that next session we can pass a law creating the crime so we can address this important human rights issue.

In the upcoming weeks we will work on issues such as criminal records, closing a loophole in motor vehicle laws that has resulted in out of state DUI’s not being considered when issuing a school bus driver’s license, constable training and renewable energy.

Please stay in touch: 828-2228 (State House); 496-7667 (home); maxjg@wcvt.com.