Act No. 65 Page 1 of 1
2021
This act summary is provided for the convenience of the public and members of the General
Assembly. It is intended to provide a general summary of the act and may not be
exhaustive. It has been prepared by the staff of the Office of Legislative Counsel without
input from members of the General Assembly. It is not intended to aid in the interpretation
of legislation or to serve as a source of legislative intent.
Act No. 65 (S.97). Judiciary; civil and criminal court procedures
An act relating to miscellaneous judiciary procedures
This act makes a number of changes to court and Judiciary procedures,
including repealing the sunsets on the Racial Disparities in the Criminal and
Juvenile System Advisory Panel (RDAP) and the spousal maintenance and
support guidelines, and extending the sunset for the Vermont Sentencing
Commission from July 1, 2021, to July 1, 2022; repealing 13 V.S.A. § 2579,
which allows civil actions based on the crime of retail theft, and 20 V.S.A. § 187,
which requires district judges to designate three successors to serve in the judge’s
place if the judge is incapacitated; clarifying the fees for appointing the personal
representative in a wrongful death action and for registering a guardianship from
another state; correcting an error so that provisions of Act 164 of 2020 (taxation
and regulation of cannabis) remain permanent; requiring that proceedings
involving commercial driver’s license holders charged with certain offenses be
brought in the Criminal Division instead of the Family Division; clarifying that a
juvenile proceeding need not be pending in the Family Division in order for the
court to extend juvenile jurisdiction in certain cases; harmonizing the age limits in
several juvenile statutes to conform with the “Raise the Age” initiative; expanding
the existing list of who is eligible to receive juvenile court records without having
to petition the court for access; expanding the membership of RDAP by three
members: the Executive Director of Racial Equity and two community members
appointed by the Executive Director of Racial Equity who will have experience
working in information technology or data collection systems; and requiring
RDAP to report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees by November 15,
2021, on the creation of the Bureau of Racial Justice Statistics to collect and
analyze data related to systemic racial bias and disparities within the criminal and
juvenile justice systems.
Multiple effective dates, beginning on June 7, 2021
VT LEG #356823 v.2


Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 13-2579, 20-187, 14-1492, 32-1434, 4-1102, 23-1203, 23-20, 23-1203)
As Passed By the Senate -- Official: 13-2579, 20-187, 14-1492, 32-1434, 4-1102, 23-1203, 23-20, 23-1203), 3-168
As Passed By the Senate -- Unofficial: 3-168, 13-2579, 20-187, 14-1492, 32-1434, 4-1102, 23-1203, 23-1203)
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Official: 13-2579, 20-187, 14-1492, 32-1434, 4-1102, 23-1203, 23-20, 23-1203), 3-168, 4-33, 33-5103, 33-5103(c), 33-5204a, 33-5117
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Unofficial: 3-168, 13-2579, 20-187, 14-1492, 32-1434, 4-1102, 23-1203, 23-1203), 4-33, 33-5103, 33-5103(c), 33-5204a, 33-5117
As Enacted: 3-168, 13-2579, 20-187, 14-1492, 32-1434, 4-1102, 23-1203, 23-1203), 4-33, 33-5103, 33-5103(c), 33-5204a, 33-5117