Governor's legal counsel outlines public‑safety package to Judiciary Committee, seeks changes to youth jurisdiction and accountability tools

Jay Pershing Johnson, legal counsel to Governor Phil Scott, told the Senate Judiciary Committee the administration’s public‑safety package aims to strengthen accountability and improve connections to treatment without proposing new crimes or higher penalties.

Johnson said the package’s principal elements would: (1) repeal the automatic inclusion of 19‑year‑olds in the juvenile/family‑court jurisdiction and instead revise youthful‑offender procedures to close what the administration calls an “accountability gap”; (2) revise bail‑revocation standards so courts and prosecutors can more effectively revoke release for defendants who reoffend or repeatedly violate conditions; (3) propose universal sealing for qualifying records that preserves access for criminal‑justice and legally required background checks; (4) limit courts’ authority to reduce or suspend sentences for people convicted of multiple violent crimes; (5) authorize law enforcement to honor extradition waivers executed as conditions of release in other states; (6) revise recidivism metrics and reporting; and (7) pursue expansion and funding for pretrial supervision, treatment links and public inebriate/crisis mental‑health beds.

Johnson told the committee he does not view the package as increasing penalties: “We’re not proposing new crimes or new penalties or increased penalties. We’re looking for our institutions to use the tools they have to ensure swift, certain, and fair justice for defendants, victims, and communities.” He said the administration plans to pair accountability tools with investments in treatment and recovery services, including better transitions into recovery housing and employment services for people with substance‑use disorders.

On youthful‑offender and raise‑the‑age issues, Johnson said the administration would seek authority to keep some 19‑year‑old cases in the criminal system or to revise youthful‑offender procedures so prosecutors can obtain sealed criminal‑court proceedings or direct‑file certain cases in family court while preserving enforceable terms. He said the administration’s goal is a timelier connection between offense and consequence for the small subset of young adults who repeatedly offend.

Johnson asked the committee to consider changes to bail revocation that meet constitutional standards articulated by the Vermont Supreme Court and said current statutory revocation authority is “not really being used very often.” He also proposed universal sealing that leaves records accessible for criminal‑justice purposes and legally required checks.

Johnson said the administration will seek to repeal a statutory July 1, 2025 prohibition on transporting disorderly or violent individuals impaired by drugs or alcohol to corrections facilities so law enforcement will retain placement options; at the same time, he proposed retooling underused public‑inebriate beds as combined public inebriate and crisis mental‑health beds, using funds allocated last year that were not fully expended. “We don’t have good alternatives,” Johnson said of law enforcement placement options for violent, impaired individuals.

Tucker Jones of the Department of Public Safety told the committee that juvenile‑jurisdiction implementation continues to raise operational concerns. He said the department collects local “weather reports” — media coverage and community meetings — that show recurring frustration about repeat offenders and the limits of current responses; Jones described several target areas such as retail theft, motor vehicle theft and identity theft where repeat offending concentrates.

Jones and committee members discussed the list of offenses that must begin as delinquency matters in family court (the so‑called “big” offense list) and other serious offenses that currently start in family court for 18‑ and, on a future date, 19‑year‑olds. He warned that some offenses (for example, the recently created domestic‑terrorism subsection intended to capture conduct that takes a “substantial step” toward a mass‑casualty event) can be difficult to manage in the family‑court structure if secure placement or sufficient DCF resources are not available.

The department reiterated that a secure youth facility remains difficult to site; committee members and witnesses said delays in creating such capacity complicate juvenile jurisdiction policymaking. Jones noted Orleans County is operating a pretrial supervision pilot; Johnson said the administration is seeking outcome data and will consider expansion, subject to funding.

Committee members asked for the administration’s draft language, and Johnson said the administration had provided language to Legislative Council and that the administration treats the draft as public. Johnson and Jones said they look forward to working with the committee as bills are introduced and refined. No formal votes or committee actions were taken during the presentations.