Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Vermont House adopts recklessness standard in auto-theft bill after debate
Summary
The House concurred in Senate amendments to H.563 and added a 'reckless disregard' mens rea standard for operating another’s vehicle without consent, aiming to address law-enforcement concerns about proving actual knowledge. The measure passed by voice vote.
The Vermont House on the floor concurred in Senate amendments to House Bill 563 and adopted a further amendment changing the mental-state element for certain motor-vehicle offenses to a recklessness standard.
Representative Malone (South Burlington) said the amendment narrows the mental-state requirement so that prosecutors must show a person "recklessly disregards that the person did not have the consent of the owner to do so," meaning the state would need to prove the defendant consciously ignored the…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
