Judiciary committee reviews H2 amendment to delay step‑up of 'raise the age' and tighten juvenile-to-criminal transfer rules

The Judiciary Committee heard a walk-through of a proposed amendment to H2 that would change delinquency jurisdiction and related juvenile‑justice procedures. Eric Fitzpatrick of the Office of Legislative Council told the committee, "The proposal is raise that age up to 12," describing changes that include raising the minimum age for family‑division delinquency jurisdiction from 10 to 12, extending how long courts may retain jurisdiction, delaying the next step of the state's raise‑the‑age schedule for 19‑year‑olds, and adding an expedited transfer option to the criminal division for certain probation violators.

Why this matters: the amendment packages several substantive changes for ages, timing and court procedure that affect how some 16‑ through 19‑year‑olds are handled. Committee members pressed staff on likely costs, Department of Children and Families (DCF) capacity, and constitutional issues that could arise if juvenile proceedings later feed into criminal prosecutions.

What the amendment would do

- Lower‑bound change: Section 1 would raise the lower age for family‑division delinquency jurisdiction from age 10 to age 12. Fitzpatrick said the change would mean “a 10 or 11 year old that committed what would otherwise be a criminal offense could [no longer] be brought into the family division in a juvenile proceeding.”

- Extended juvenile jurisdiction: For young people already subject…