Senator Harrison trims H.171 amendment, secures language adding role for victims' advocates

Senator Harrison proposed and then narrowed an amendment to H.171 on May 13 in the Senate Judiciary Committee, winning committee assent to add language clarifying the role of victims' advocates in the panel charged with drafting investigative protocols.

Harrison told the committee the bill's provisions should "instill public trust in such investigations and resolve investigations in a timely manner to provide certainty to all parties involved," and proposed two changes: adding a member of the Vermont Town and City Management Association to the investigative group and formally referencing victims' advocates in Section 5, which defines one of the group's charges regarding prosecutorial assessment. Harrison argued town managers often supervise police chiefs and that a civilian perspective would help "round things out," noting roughly "550" municipal police officers are in local departments.

A committee member questioned the need to broaden membership, saying the group's designers intentionally kept it finite and listing the Attorney General's Office, state's attorneys, chiefs of police and state police as the entities most directly involved in investigations. That member asked, "What expertise would the Vermont Town and City Management Association bring to this for investigation purposes that the Association of Chiefs of Police would not?" and said past coordination problems included at least one investigation lasting about 15 months.

Harrison responded that town managers can provide municipal context and are the officials who often must explain investigative results to constituents and select boards. After the committee raised concerns about enlarging the panel without testimony from town managers themselves, Harrison agreed to withdraw the town‑manager proposal and to move forward with editing and offering only the victims'‑advocate language.

The Chair observed that victims' advocates already are embedded in the Attorney General's Office and in state's attorneys' offices, and said adding the language likely would not create a substantial operational impact but could clarify the group's responsibilities. Committee members voiced informal agreement with adding victims'‑advocate language; Harrison said he would edit the amendment, circulate it to members and the secretary's office, and prepare to present it on the floor.

The committee did not take a formal roll‑call vote in the meeting; the discussion concluded with an apparent informal consensus to include victims' advocates in the amendment language and with administrative steps to file the edited amendment.