Senate Judiciary panel considers H.21 to broaden who can serve writs of possession

Representative Karen Dolan presented H.21 to the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 26, asking the panel to consider a narrow change to the law that would allow sheriffs beyond the county where a property sits to serve writs of possession.

Dolansaid the measure grew from a constituent attorney—s difficulty getting writs served and from work the Vermont Sheriffs Association had been doing to address the same problem. "It basically makes it so that it doesn't have to just be the sheriff of the county where the property is that can serve the writ," Dolan said, describing the bill as a "very simple change."

The bill matters because Vermont—s regional corrections system can move people outside the county where a writ is directed, complicating service. Mark Anderson, sheriff of Windham County and president of the Vermont Sheriffs Association, told the committee that the association is neither fully for nor fully against H.21 as written but appreciates that it "nudges the…