Vermont committee hears testimony on H.223 to address device-enabled stalking and vehicle access for survivors

The House Judiciary Committee continued hearings on H.223 on Feb. 20, hearing testimony from advocates, a survivor and prosecutors about proposed protections for device-enabled stalking and for survivors’ access to vehicles. Testimony supported adding vehicle access to civil protection orders and updating stalking definitions to reflect continuous digital surveillance, while prosecutors and others warned against creating a broad new standalone criminal offense without more work.

Supporters, including Charlie Glisserman, policy director at the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, told the committee that “as technology evolves, our laws must also evolve to respond to new risks, and introduce new safeguards to protect survivors’ safety and privacy.” Glisserman highlighted three components of H.223: requiring automakers to allow a driver to remove another person’s remote access to a connected vehicle; explicitly authorizing courts to award primary possession of a vehicle in civil protection orders; and updating the stalking definition to better capture device-enabled surveillance.

The bill would add vehicle-related protections because, supporters said, a car can be a lifeline for survivors who need to flee, maintain employment and access childcare in rural areas. “A vehicle can be a lifeline for survivors in escaping violence and leaving independent lives immediately afterwards,” Glisserman said, and advocates noted New York and California have recently adopted similar…