— The House passed its two police reform priorities Tuesday — finishing up work in the waning days of the legislative session.
The lower chamber approved both S.119 — which outlines a uniform use-of-force policy for law enforcement — and S.124 — which updates and expands police training protocol.
“These bills are a critical step by the Legislature to address the systemic racism that permeates our systems of justice, public safety, and corrections, as well as our State Government,” Speaker of the House Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, said in a statement.
S.124, which passed on a virtual voice vote, addresses several key policy questions Democratic lawmakers had prioritized before they adjourned for the summer back in June.
The bill includes a moratorium on the use of facial recognition technology by police until the General Assembly says otherwise as well as mandating that the Vermont Criminal Justice Council craft a statewide policy for the use of body cameras in the upcoming months.
If the legislation is enacted, Vermont would join only a handful of states and municipalities — including California and Somerville, Massachusetts — to prohibit police from using facial recognition technology. Until an updated body camera policy is presented to the Legislature, the bill mandates that law enforcement agencies must use the justice council’s 2016 policy.
The legislation also ties compliance with race data collection of traffic stops by law enforcement agencies as well as reporting incidents of death or serious bodily injury to grant funding for police departments.
Rep. Anne Donahue, R-Northfield, said on the virtual House floor that she believes the legislation addresses many of the concerns lawmakers had at the end of June but that the Legislature will still continue the work when it returns in January 2021.
“It’s worth noting that as a state we do want our local communities to be making local decisions but there are certain areas where it’s really important to have statewide standards,” Donahue said. “I think the area of public protection is one of those areas.” – KN
— The more controversial of the two measures is S.119 which among other things amends the state’s “justifiable homicide” statute — that currently stipulates an individual can kill or wound a person legally under certain circumstances, including self-defense.
The bill also outlines how and when law enforcement are allowed to use deadly force, including chokeholds and other prohibited restraints.
The House approved the measure on a vote of 99-32, but not before Rep. Tom Burditt, R-West Rutland, who is the vice chair of the judiciary committee, told his colleagues on the virtual House floor that he opposed the legislation.
Burditt, whose son is a police officer in Seattle, Washington, said that he felt the bill had been rushed through the legislative process and that he was concerned that mandates in statute — as opposed to model policies — could lead to police officers being unable to properly defend themselves.
“This all sounds good on paper,” Burditt said. “I don’t believe that’s the way it’s going to be, there’s always the unintended consequence.”
Rep. Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington, who drafted and reported the bill, responded to Burditt by saying that the legislation does not add anything into statute that courts across the country have not already ruled on and decided is best practice.
“We want these standards in place so that the policy can be developed consistent with these standards,” LaLonde said. “I’ll just make clear my disagreement of whether these are severely altering how law enforcement does their job — they are already doing their job consistent with these standards.” – KN
— The Senate voted 23-6 to send S.54, legislation that creates a legal market for marijuana, to the governor’s desk.
On Thursday, the House approved the bill on a 92-56 vote.
Gov. Scott has signaled that he could sign the bill, but as with many policy decisions has been reluctant to make his position clear.
On the virtual Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, said the bill is “not perfect” and that while he does not know if the governor will sign it, he would be surprised if Scott didn’t. – KN
— With three days to go before the adjournment deadline the budget is headed to a conference committee, and a Senate-House standoff.
The House has sent out a lineup of Appropriations Chair Kitty Toll, D-Danville, flanked by Vice Chair Mary Hooper, D-Montpelier, and ranking member Rep. Peter Fagan, R-Rutland City.
“Due to the substantive changes made and the amount of new language included, the committee voted not to concur with the Senate proposal of amendment,” Toll said Tuesday.
The House voted 132-1 to send the only must-pass bill to the committee of conference. – KN
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