BILL AS INTRODUCED H.170
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1 H.170
2 SHORT FORM
3 Introduced by Representatives Emmons of Springfield, Shaw of Pittsford,
4 Squirrell of Underhill, and Wood of Waterbury
5 Referred to Committee on
6 Date:
7 Subject: Criminal Justice; corrections; restorative justice
8 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to create a task
9 force to examine the restorative justice approach to Vermont’s criminal justice
10 system. The task force shall review the functionality of restorative justice
11 approaches and structures, statutes governing restorative justice approaches,
12 and funding sources. The task force shall include legislators and
13 representatives from the Department of Corrections, the Attorney General’s
14 office, the Department for Children and Families, the Defender General’s
15 office, the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, and local community
16 justice centers or other entities that engage in restorative justice approaches
17 throughout the State. The task force shall provide any recommendations to
18 reform restorative justice approaches to Vermont’s criminal justice system in
19 the form of proposed legislation. The task force, when reviewing statutes
20 governing restorative justice approaches, shall determine whether restorative
21 justice statutes should be restructured within a single title of the Vermont VT LEG #366702 v.1
 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.170
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1 Statutes Annotated. To achieve the goal of greater geographic equity and
2 efficiency of the services, programs, and financing of the criminal justice
3 system, the task force shall work to standardize the precharge referrals to
4 diversion process and other restorative justice approaches to create uniformity
5 throughout the State. The task force shall work to streamline funding
6 mechanisms for community justice centers, transitional housing partners,
7 substance abuse prevention and treatment providers, and recipients of the
8 Justice Reinvestment II monies to measure the effectiveness of the funding.
9 The task force shall work to classify certain crimes and offenders to limit
10 prosecutorial discretion and to have mandatory referrals to various restorative
11 justice approaches before entering the criminal justice system. The task force
12 shall explore legislation authorizing the courts to directly refer certain
13 offenders to court diversion and other restorative justice programs.
14 An act relating to creating a task force to examine the restorative justice
15 approach to Vermont’s criminal justice system
16 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
17 (TEXT OMITTED IN SHORT-FORM BILLS)
VT LEG #366702 v.1