Judiciary committee reviews S.109, omnibus ‘miscellaneous judiciary’ bill

The Judiciary Committee met Wednesday to review S.109, the annual miscellaneous judiciary bill that bundles technical corrections and a range of judiciary-related policy proposals, committee chair Eric said at the start of the session.

The bill includes technical clarifications to the Judicial Bureau and court procedure, changes to how some court records can be accessed by attorneys, corrections to recently enacted statutes, a provision to remove the criminal prohibition on switchblade knives and a proposal to create a working group on firearm surrender and storage. The committee’s staff and legislative counsel described the pieces and said witnesses would testify later in the day.

Patrick, with the Office of Legislative Counsel, summarized the bill’s purpose: "This is the annual miscellaneous judiciary bill," and explained that it gathers smaller, often technical provisions that otherwise would be filed as separate measures. He told committee members many items are requested by courts or outside groups and that some standalone bills have been folded into the omnibus measure.

Key provisions discussed included:

- Judicial staffing and statutory references: The bill would change statutory language so the General Assembly’s authority to set the number of superior court judges is stated generally, rather than listing a fixed number in the statute. Committee members noted the current enacted number is 34 and confirmed the budget process also controls filled positions.

- Judicial Bureau clarifications: Several sections clarify that certain offenses are civil (judicial bureau) matters rather than criminal, including provisions tied to tobacco purchase and use by persons under 21 and the use of false ID to obtain tobacco. The bill also clarifies the limits on law-enforcement officers’ authority to void or amend bureau complaints "unless otherwise provided by law," as explained by counsel.

- Attorney remote access to court records: The bill would require the court to provide licensed Vermont attorneys access via the internet to nonconfidential family, criminal and probate case records, to allow attorneys to review records remotely rather than only at courthouse terminals. Counsel said the court already has a mechanism to verify an attorney’s good standing and could extend it for this access.

- Mortgage foreclosure attorney-fee hearings: The bill aligns foreclosure practice with the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure so courts would not be required to hold a hearing on attorney-fee requests that fall below the threshold defined in the rules (the rule described by counsel uses a percentage threshold for automatic review).

- Switchblade knives and expungement: Language from S.61 folded into S.109 would strike the statutory prohibition on switchblade knives while leaving prohibitions on zip guns intact. Committee counsel said the change responds to unclear statutory definitions that could criminalize common automatic-opening knives. The bill also includes provisions to expunge prior convictions tied solely to the removed switchblade offense; counsel reported there have been 10 convictions under that combined statute in the last 25 years and that the judiciary said expungement would be administratively feasible.

- Victim compensation and interveners: The Victim Compensation Board asked for language to limit compensation to interveners who suffered physical injury, rather than allowing awards for emotional harm alone in some bystander situations.

- Guardianship and sealing: The bill would require the court to dismiss and seal records not only when a guardianship petition is denied but also when the petitioner withdraws the petition.

- Power of attorney and trust form corrections: The Office of Legislative Counsel identified drafting errors in the optional power-of-attorney form and in provisions added by last year’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act; the bill corrects duplicate or missing options and restores intended authority language (for example, authority related to rights of survivorship and trust modification language that was duplicated incorrectly in the form).

- Real-property title validation for powers of attorney: The bill would add powers of attorney to the list of older instruments that can be validated after 15 years to protect marketable title where an underlying power of attorney was not recorded but the deed has existed unchallenged.

- Repeals and reporting changes: The bill removes a statutory reporting requirement tied to a forensic facility that has not been created and also accelerates repeal of the Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory Council after testimony that one of its central duties is no longer practicable.

- Firearm surrender working group: The bill would create a working group convened by the attorney general to propose a statewide compliance model for firearm surrender and storage where law or court order requires temporary custody (for example, relief-from-abuse orders, domestic assault arrests and extreme-risk protection orders). The working group would include public safety and court officials, storage providers and stakeholders and must report recommendations and any legislative proposals to the Judiciary and Justice Oversight committees by Nov. 15. Committee members signaled they plan to propose amendments to narrow or streamline the working group and to ensure key stakeholder consultation — including sporting- and gun-owner groups and law-enforcement evidence-storage experts.

Committee members asked clarifying questions during the walkthrough, including how the number of judges is set (counsel and members said the appropriations process funds judgeships and the statute would simply reflect legislative authority rather than a fixed count), how attorney internet access would be authenticated (counsel said the court uses an existing verification system) and why the stalking-order language tracks prior changes to relief-from-abuse orders (to render service procedures consistent when the order is given to a defendant in court).

No formal votes occurred during the walkthrough; committee staff said they will bring witnesses later in the day for testimony on parts of the bill and that members expect to work on amendments ahead of markup.

The committee is scheduled to reconvene at 2:00 p.m. for testimony and further consideration of S.109.