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Vermont House rejects McGuire amendment to delay expansion of juvenile jurisdiction to 19-year-olds
Summary
Representative McGuire (Rutland City) offered an amendment on House Bill 2 to preserve juvenile jurisdiction for 18-year-olds and prevent a scheduled April 1 expansion to include 19-year-olds; the House rejected the amendment on a roll-call vote of 55 to 86.
Representative McGuire (Rutland City) offered an amendment on House Bill 2 to preserve existing juvenile jurisdiction for 18-year-olds while removing the scheduled expansion that would add 19-year-olds to the family division.
The amendment would have struck sections 5 through 11 of the committee report and inserted a new section to keep “step 1” of the 2018 raise-the-age law in place while sunsetting the planned step 2 expansion to 19-year-olds. McGuire told members the change would “keep us exactly where we are” and said the proposal was not a repeal of the 2018 law but a postponement of the second step.
Supporters of the amendment said Vermont should pause and observe how other jurisdictions implement similar changes before extending juvenile jurisdiction. Representative from Poultney argued that Massachusetts’s recent implementation was an example to watch and framed the pause as a “common sense” approach. Opponents, including the member from Williston and others who spoke against the amendment, cited the research underlying the original 2018 legislation and urged the House to hold to the policy’s intent. The member from South Burlington read written testimony from Department for Children and Families (DCF) and other juvenile-justice stakeholders noting support for the objective but saying system readiness remains a concern.
A roll-call vote on McGuire’s amendment resulted in 55 in favor and 86 opposed; the amendment failed. After that vote, the House proceeded to consider the committee on judiciary’s recommended amendment to House Bill 2; the chamber adopted the committee’s recommendation by voice vote and ordered third reading.
The proposal discussed in the amendment referred to the phased implementation of the 2018 raise-the-age legislation (enacted February 2018). The transcript indicates the second step of that law was scheduled to take effect on April 1, which prompted the amendment and the debate about the state’s operational readiness to expand family-division jurisdiction to include 19-year-olds.
Key procedural items recorded in the chamber: the McGuire amendment was offered to amend the committee report and was put to a roll-call; following its defeat the House accepted the committee’s recommended amendment and ordered third reading of H.2.
Lawmakers making substantive floor remarks included Representative McGuire (Rutland City), the member from South Burlington (who read DCF and advocacy testimony), the member from Poultney, the member from Williston, the member from Northfield and several other house members who spoke for and against the amendment during the roll-call and subsequent debate.
Votes at a glance: McGuire amendment (to sunset step 2 of raise-the-age): yes 55, no 86; amendment failed. Committee recommendation on H.2: adopted by voice vote; third reading ordered.
