Democratic lawmakers say they’re confident they have the votes needed to override Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of a bill that would expand access to restorative justice programs.
Vermont has been using the restorative justice approach for decades to resolve mostly lower-level criminal offenses. And advocates say the process, which involves a mediated resolution between victim and perpetrator, can be an effective alternative to the traditional criminal justice system.
But Jessie Schmidt, executive director of the Orange County Restorative Justice Center, said rural counties like hers often aren’t getting many referrals from county prosecutors.
“It’s really important that the folks in our county have the same access to alternatives to the traditional criminal and corrections systems that people in Chittenden County or down in Windham County have,” Schmidt told Vermont Public Wednesday.
Essex Rep. Karen Dolan, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said the legislation tries to achieve geographic equity by directing the Office of the Attorney General to build out restorative justice programs in all 14 counties.
“Right now there’s kind of a hodgepodge of things, and we’re trying to kind of peel back the layers to see what’s going on out there,” Dolan said Wednesday.
Scott said in a veto message to lawmakers Tuesday evening said he appreciates the rationale behind the legislation.
“I understand the desire to help those, particularly youth, who need second, third and even fourth chances to get their lives on track,” Scott wrote.
He said the bill amounts to an unfunded mandate, however, because it doesn’t include appropriations needed to undertake the reforms.
“The bottom line is this bill expands the responsibilities of the Office of the Attorney General, which will require additional resources, and yet the new work is not funded,” Scott wrote.
More from Vermont Public: Here are the bills vetoed by Gov. Phil Scott
In an interview with Vermont Public Wednesday, Attorney General Charity Clark said she’d asked lawmakers to fund an additional position in her office to perform the additional work.
She said she supports enactment of the legislation even though that money wasn’t included.
“Without the funding, we can still do the work,” Clark said. “It’s not ideal, but absolutely the lack of funding for this fiscal year should not be a reason for the legislature to sustain the veto.”
Dolan said lawmakers will remedy lack of funding in the current bill when they reconvene next year.
“I agree, funding is important, and that will be the next step we take with this,” she said. “Implementing the policy is a huge first step.”
In the meantime, Dolan said, lawmakers plan to proceed with an override when they hold their veto session in Montpelier later this month. She said enactment of the legislation now will allow Clark’s office to begin the process of identifying barriers to participation in restorative justice programs.
“Right now there isn’t that equal access to pre-charge diversion across the state,” she said. “And so what this bill is doing is codifying pre-charge diversion in statute and setting up parameters for how it will be implemented across the state.”
Schmidt said it’s important to get those statutory changes in place as soon as possible.
“This establishes basic rights for victims,” she said. “It establishes basic rights for people who are being referred to these programs to address harm that they may have caused.”
Clark and Dolan said the bill will, over time, help address a 15,000-case backlog in Vermont’s criminal justice system. And Schmidt said the restorative justice approach could improve outcomes for both offenders and their victims.
“We know [what] long-term consequences of involvement in the traditional criminal legal system can have on people’s ability for employment and housing and access to education,” Schmidt said. “And anything that provides an opportunity to step outside the legal system and address harm within community, and give people that chance to make amends, we really support.”
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