Legislators at a Jan. 14 hearing discussed establishing a dedicated chapter in Title 13 to centralize criminal‑justice data collection and to set consistent reporting expectations across agencies.

Researchers recounted the history of Vermont’s current statutory recidivism measure, noting it dates to Act 40 (2011) and was designed to allow interstate comparison. They said the Department of Corrections currently calculates a limited measure (focusing on people sentenced to one year or more) and that broader, more useful reports require combining additional conviction and court records or expanded analytic capacity.

Members discussed what a Title 13 data chapter should include — sentencing data, time incarcerated, juvenile justice measures and targeted program evaluation language — and considered whether some reporting should be ad hoc (requested for particular policy evaluations) while other items become routine. A Statistical Analysis Center representative suggested that the state could produce rates at 1, 3, 5 and 10 years but stressed that such indicators require appropriate context and that program evaluation still needs specialized studies.

Committee staff and witnesses agreed to prioritize a short list of initial data items to include in a statutory data chapter and to return in a few weeks with draft language; the committee asked the Statistical Analysis Center and research partners to provide estimates of cost and feasibility. A planning figure of $100,000 was noted in the discussion as a starting point for budgeting talks, but no appropriation was made.

Next steps: committee staff will draft Title 13 language describing the criminal‑justice data portal and report types, researchers will supply feasibility and cost estimates, and the committee will reconvene to set priorities and possible sunset dates for temporary reporting requirements.