Senate Judiciary hears debate on H.2 to delay Raise-the-Age rollout; advocates urge immediate implementation

Summary

Lawmakers and witnesses debated H.2, a bill that would delay the second phase of Vermont’s Raise‑the‑Age law and change juvenile jurisdictional ages; advocates argued the delay would harm youth and public safety while administration and others cited implementation challenges and resource needs.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on March 18 heard hours of testimony on H.2, the House measure that would repeal the imminent April 1 effect of Raise‑the‑Age Phase 2 and re‑enact it with a delayed effective date, change minimum and maximum ages for juvenile jurisdiction, extend certain delinquency jurisdiction periods and add reporting requirements for the Agency of Human Services.

Supporters of H.2, including a representative from the administration identified in committee as Jay, told the panel the bill should move quickly. “I would urge you … we definitely support passing this bill as soon as possible,” Jay said, emphasizing the time sensitivity tied to an April 1 effective date in the current law.

Advocates for youth and several court and child welfare witnesses opposed delaying Raise‑the‑Age. Matthew Bernstein, Youth and Family Advocate for the state of Vermont, told the committee, “If you’re asking us up, down today on H.2, we are opposed to that,” and said the bill “does too little and does too much” — delaying phase 2 while adding requirements that would place more work on the Department for Children and Families (DCF).

Why it matters

The core dispute is whether to allow the second phase of Raise‑the‑Age — which would add 19‑year‑olds to family‑division (juvenile) jurisdiction for many non‑serious offenses — to go into effect April 1, or to delay it until…

Senate Judiciary hears debate on H.2 to delay Raise-the-Age rollout; advocates urge immediate implementation

Summary

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