Witnesses tell Senate Judiciary H.105 would streamline youth diversion; urge adding cannabis and 0.02 citations

On April 22, the Senate Judiciary Committee received testimony on H.105, a bill that would change how certain underage alcohol citations are handled by allowing Youth Substance Assessment Services (YSAS) to receive referrals now routed to juvenile delinquency or family court.

Supporters told the committee the change would speed services, reduce court involvement and reduce confusion for youth, families and law enforcement. Meg Rizzo, executive director of the Washington Hennie Diversion program, testified that separate processes for 16-year-olds and other youth create practical problems for officers and families and slow timely access to services. “It just prolongs that, and there's extra steps, which can be really confusing for parents and especially when they're seeing their peers have a completely separate process that looks different,” Rizzo said.

YSAS would handle some matters as civil violations instead of delinquency referrals, proponents said, allowing case managers to guide young people through screening, risk assessment and service connections rather than defaulting to court involvement.

Kelly Aaron, manager of youth restorative programs at the Wilmington Community Justice Center, told the committee her office saw roughly 250 eligible tickets in the last fiscal year and described uneven referrals for 16-year-olds. “We often see law enforcement referring youth 16 to YSAS even though they're not currently eligible. This can result in confusion, uneven handling of cases, unnecessary court involvement, and delayed support to the young person in our family,” Aaron said. She recommended that H.105 be amended to include cannabis offenses and to explicitly cover 16-year-olds.

Willa Barrell, court diversion and pretrial services director at the attorney general's office, also supported H.105 as passed by the House and said it would “expedite the intervention” and better connect youth to substance-use services. Barrell said program staff had preliminary conversations with law enforcement and local partners to prepare for an implementation date, and that last year there were about 40 cited 0.02 violations statewide that the program would need to accommodate if the change takes effect July 1.

Witnesses described how small civil ticket amounts can mask larger secondary consequences. Rizzo noted a “0.02” citation is often a $47 ticket but can trigger a six‑month license suspension and require attendance at driver safety programs. Witnesses said diversion case managers help families navigate these consequences and that expanding YSAS eligibility would reduce surprises and conflicting outcomes for similar conduct among peers.

Committee members asked about program completion rates and confidentiality. Rizzo said most youth complete diversion steps because the alternatives can include fines and license suspension; she estimated the majority of referred youth successfully complete program requirements. Witnesses emphasized that diversion information is confidential and that schools and athletic programs handle such information separately under their policies.

No committee vote on H.105 was recorded during the hearing. Committee members and witnesses discussed possible edits — notably adding cannabis to the list of offenses and specifying treatment of 0.02 citations — and supporters said they would work with staff on technical language if the bill moves forward.

Why it matters: Proponents said the changes would reduce court involvement for many youth, provide faster access to assessment and services, and reduce confusion when peer groups receive different processing for similar conduct. Opponents or neutral parties were not recorded in the transcript as speaking against the proposal during this hearing.

Next steps: The committee heard testimony but did not take a vote at the session recorded in the transcript.