2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 28 - Public Institutions and Corrections › Chapter 3 - Administration of the Department › § 126. Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory Council

§ 126. Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory Council
(a) Creation. There is created the Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory Council to establish a unified and collaborative State approach to support State and local community-based programs and services that are consistent with Vermont’s restorative justice policy pursuant to section 2a of this title. The Council shall consult with State and local partners to use a data-driven approach that improves public safety, reduces correctional and criminal justice spending, and reinvests savings or redirects funding in strategies that foster desistance or decrease crime, delinquencies, and recidivism.
(b) Membership. The Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory Council shall be composed of the following members:
(1) the Attorney General or designee with experience in community and restorative justice;
(2) the Chief Superior Judge of the Vermont Superior Court or designee;
(3) the Commissioner of Corrections or designee;
(4) the Commissioner for Children and Families or designee;
(5) the Executive Director of the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services or designee;
(6) the Executive Director of the Vermont Statistical Analysis Center or designee;
(7) the Executive Director of the Office of Racial Equity or designee;
(8) one current member of the House of Representatives selected from the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee, appointed by the Speaker of the House; and
(9) one current member of the Senate selected from the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee, appointed by the Committee on Committees.
(c) Powers and duties. The Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory Council shall:
(1) review and provide data-driven recommendations for the priorities and appropriations necessary to support a unified and collaborative State approach in accordance with subsection (a) of this section;
(2) review all relevant government appropriations, reauthorizations, and allocations made during the most recent fiscal year;
(3) consult with Department of Mental Health; the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs; the Office of the Defender General; the Parole Board; the Office of the Child, Youth, and Family Advocate; the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; the Racial Disparities in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System Advisory Panel; individuals with lived experience in the criminal justice system recommended by the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont; and community justice entities that receive State funding for programs and services employing restorative justice principles on the potential uses and priorities of funding in accordance with subsection (a) of this section;
(4) consistent with subsection (a) of this section, consider opportunities and make recommendations to establish a sustainable planning and funding structure to administer State and local community-based programs and services and modern data collection systems; and
(5) on or before September 1, 2023 and annually thereafter, recommend to the Commissioner of Corrections the appropriate allocation of not more than $900,000.00 from the Justice Reinvestment II line item of the Department of Corrections’ budget for the upcoming fiscal year to support community-based programs and services, related data collection and analysis capacity, and other initiatives in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.
(d) Assistance. The Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory Council shall have the administrative, technical, and legal assistance of the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Corrections, and the Department for Children and Families for those issues and services within the jurisdiction of the respective office or department.
(e) Reports. On or before November 15, 2023 and annually thereafter, the Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory Council shall submit recommendations pursuant to subdivisions (c)(4) and (c)(5) of this section to the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee; the Senate Committees on Appropriations and on Judiciary; and the House Committees on Appropriations, on Corrections and Institutions, and on Judiciary. Any recommendations submitted pursuant to subdivision (c)(4) shall be in the form of proposed legislation.
(f) Meetings; officers; committees; rules; compensation; term.
(1) The Chief Superior Judge of the Vermont Superior Court or designee shall call the first meeting of the Coordinated Justice Reform Advisory Council on or before July 15, 2023.
(2) The Council shall meet not more than six times per year.
(3) The Chief Superior Judge of the Vermont Superior Court or designee shall serve as the Chair of the Council.
(4) The Council may elect additional officers from its members, establish committees or subcommittees, and adopt procedural rules or bylaws as necessary and appropriate to perform its work.
(5) Members who are appointed to the Council shall be appointed for terms of three years, except that the Commissioners of Corrections and for Children and Families and members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representative and the Senate Committee on Committees shall be appointed for a term of two years. Initial appointments shall be made such that the Commissioners of Corrections and for Children and Families and the members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representative and the Senate Committee on Committees shall be appointed for a term of one year. Members shall hold office for the term of their appointments until their successors have been appointed. Vacancies on the Council shall be filled for the remaining period of the term in the same manner as initial appointments. Members are eligible for reappointment.
(6) A majority of the membership shall constitute a quorum.
(7) Members of the Council who are not employees of the State of Vermont and who are not otherwise compensated or reimbursed for their attendance shall be entitled to compensation and reimbursement of expenses pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 1010 for not more than six meetings per year.
(8) Council meetings shall be subject to the Open Meeting Law. (Added 2023, No. 40, § 2, eff. July 1, 2023; repealed by 2023, No. 40, § 4(c), eff. July 1, 2028.)