My Committee Work H.609 cocaine trafficking:

this bill proposes to eliminate the sentencing disparity between cocaine and crack cocaine drug offenses. This is an issue that has been given a lot of att ention nation- wide. Currently those convicted of trafficking crack cocaine tend to be people of color and are sentenced longer than those selling powder cocaine, who tend to be white and of higher income levels. We heard from the sponsor of the bill that it is the same drug and should be treated as such. If we take further consideration on this bill we will need to hear from the state forensic chemist to help us understand if the drugs are the same and how different states handle them. Apparently only 13 states now treat them differently.

H.630 Mental Health: This bill is a proposal to respond to the lack of a state hospital due to Irene. It has now passed the House. It however is a conversation that needed to happen despite the flood. The goal is to create new treatment opportunities for individuals with mental health conditions and strengthen Vermont’s existing mental health system.

My committee looked at the bill in light of the Forensic Needs in the Absence of a State Hospital.

In a memo to the committees on appropriations, human services, and institutions and corrections, we recommended the following:

The Judiciary Committee strongly urges that any proposal for a mental health facility should include the following:

• a centrally located facility to avoid long transfers where patients, by law, are required to be shackled;

• at least two (2) dedicated beds to be used for forensic patients. The former state hospital had two dedicated beds;

• a courtroom or room that establishes boundaries similar to a courtroom, not merely a conference room;

• a minimum of five (5) beds in a secured facility.

H.413: Protection of Vulnerable Adults: This is a bill I introduced. It passed the House. If passed into law it could expand the attorney general’s ability to prosecute abuse of Vermont’s vulnerable adults. Currently, Vermont’s attorney general can file criminal charges against individuals and facilities. This amendment will expand civil enforcement options.

Under current Vermont law, a criminal conviction of such abuse results in the automatic shutdown of a facility like a nursing home or expulsion of an employee found guilty of abuse. This legislation gives the attorney general more options in prosecuting cases of abuse or exploitation where jail or criminal penalties such as shutting down a facility may not be appropriate.

H.580: Safe Storage of firearms: This bill is a result of the tragic death of a 15 year old from Essex. We took testimony from his mother who told us how her son’s life was tragically shortened when he was given access to a firearm. This bill requires that information on safe firearm storage practices be distributed by pawnbrokers and retail merchants when selling firearms, by pediatricians during at least one well-child visit, by a mental health provider serving a child diagnosed with depression, by the school comprehensive health education program, and by the hunter safety course and the mentored hunting program.

It would increase the fine for the offense of furnishing a firearm to a child; prohibit children who are adjudicated delinquent, convicted of certain criminal offenses, or participating in the diversion program from possessing firearms during the child’s term of probation or during the diversion contract; and require a warning about the risks of unsafe firearm storage to be displayed at every point of purchase of a firearm or transfer of ownership of a firearm.

H.751: Juvenile Jurisdiction: We are continuing to work on this bill that looks at which court and court process is the best for adjudicating 16 and 17-year-old youths. Juveniles are now generally charged in criminal court— which tends to be a court system based more on punishment. Juvenile court is based more on treatment, prevention and rehabilitation.

We heard testimony from states attorneys that brain research shows that quick and immediate treatment and consequences lead to better rehabilitation of the young person. Generally, juvenile court is a better place for young people because when they are charged and convicted in criminal court they have a criminal record like an adult that stays with them for life.

We heard that despite this, many states attorneys don’t recommend juvenile court for 16 and 17 year olds because juvenile court jurisdiction ends when a child turns 18. They “age out of the system”. This means that if a child is 17 and needs 18 months of treatment, the services like treatment and community service requirements would terminate even if not complete when the child turns 18.

Victim advocates testified in support of the bill because in practice, there are much more protections ultimately for the victims if the 16 or 17 is in the juvenile system rather than the criminal system. In practice, in the criminal system the sentences are short or there might just be a fine. In juvenile court, there is more intervention, accountability and oversight of the juvenile and ultimate protection for the victim.

We heard from states attorneys, juvenile defender, diversion, department of children and families and victims advocates thus far. We will continue working on this bill. I am hopeful we can pass it, as I support the policy that earlier intervention and rehabilitation can prevent our youth from re-offending and entering the adult criminal system.

Please stay in touch: maxjg@leg.state.vt.us, 496-7667, 828-2228.