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Bill H.27 would expand Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission’s remit and add members, lawmakers say
Summary
Representative Mark Leland told the committee that H.27 would permit the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission to examine near‑fatal domestic violence incidents and add five members to its 17‑member panel, plus include language urging appointing authorities to strive for racial, ethnic and disability representation.
Representative Mark Leland, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, outlined H.27 to the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee on Jan. 23, describing changes to the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission that include expanding the kinds of cases the commission reviews and increasing its membership.
Leland said the commission, which he said has operated since the early 2000s and currently has 17 members, traditionally issues a report at the beginning of each biennium though it has been providing annual reports. H.27 would let the commission review not only fatalities related to domestic violence but also “near fatal instances of domestic violence,” broadening the set of cases the commission may select for in‑depth review. Leland said the bill intentionally leaves “near fatal” undefined so the commission can decide which cases merit a deep dive.
“The main reason why it came to judiciary committee is that it expands the kind of cases that they will make a deep dive in to include not just the fatalities related to domestic violence, but what they’re labeled or just calling near fatal instances of domestic violence,” Leland said.
Leland also said the bill would add five additional individuals to the panel (bringing the membership above 17) and listed categories of new appointees the bill would add: sheriffs, a restorative justice practitioner, the director of victim services for the Vermont State Police, a state's attorney victim advocate, and the director of victim services for the Department of Corrections. He said several of those representatives asked to be added.
An amendment described in the hearing would change the appointing authority for the state's attorney victim advocate from the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services to the Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs, and would add an executive director of crime victim services to the panel. Leland said the commission recommended language on membership diversity: appointing authorities should “strive to appoint persons from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, persons with a disability, and persons who identify as LGBTQ+.”
Leland said committee members often ask whether a sunset is attached when membership is expanded; he said no sunset is in the bill because the commission is ongoing and continues to provide at least a biennial report. He told the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee that he planned to set a vote in the judiciary committee the next day but invited the committee to take jurisdiction if they wished.
Committee members expressed general comfort with the changes and no formal action was recorded in this meeting. Leland asked to be kept informed if further issues arise while the judiciary committee moves H.27 through its process.
The bill, as presented in the committee hearing, did not attach criminal liability to the broader review definition and therefore Leland said the judiciary committee kept the term “near fatal” intentionally broad for the commission’s discretion.
