Updated at 4:47 p.m.
Gov. Phil Scott vetoed legislation late Thursday that would have prohibited police from publicly identifying individuals under the age of 19 arrested for certain crimes.
The veto was Scott’s 21st since taking office. He now ties former Gov. Howard Dean for issuing the most vetoes in state history.
The bill, S.107, would have allowed law enforcement to release initial arrest information of those 19 and younger only if they were charged as adults for any “Big 12” offenses — such as murder, sexual assault or aggravated assault.
Identifying information would not be released for those charged with other crimes — including motor vehicle crashes in which someone was killed — if the alleged perpetrator was likely to face juvenile proceedings in family court. That age threshold would have increased to 20 next year if the bill became law. The legislation would, however, have allowed the release of names in matters affecting public safety.
For decades, the names of teenage drivers involved in accidents, including fatal crashes, were disclosed by police.
But following a fatal crash last year in which a teenage driver crossed into oncoming traffic and killed a Ferrisburgh couple, Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Michael Schirling halted that practice, citing conflicting state laws.
Lawmakers had worked on S.107 this session in hopes of clearing up that uncertainty.
But in his veto message, Scott said he did not believe the proposal clarified the state’s public records laws and expressed concern over continuing to raise the age by which those charged with crimes receive protections meant for juveniles in the state’s criminal justice system.
The governor wrote that the state had not yet done sufficient work to provide young adults with necessary rehabilitation services, housing and other support to ensure they did not become repeat offenders.
Scott also alleged in his letter to lawmakers that drug traffickers had started using young adults to commit crimes because the risk of incarceration had decreased.
During a press conference Friday, the governor said he had decided to veto the bill after considering that court documents concerning a 20-year-old’s alleged crimes would be kept private.
“I don’t believe we’ve done enough collectively — the executive branch, the judicial branch, the legislative branch — to prepare us for this moment,” Scott said Friday. “We need to take a step back and reassess and make sure that we put the programs in place or we keep the age lower, at least at this point.”
While the Legislature has tentatively scheduled a veto override session for June 23-24, it’s unclear whether lawmakers will challenge the governor over his decision on S.107. In order for the bill to become law over Scott’s objections, two-thirds of both the House and Senate would have to vote to override his veto.
In a written statement Friday, Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, D-Windham, said that she and her fellow lawmakers were “scratching our heads” over Scott’s veto message, saying that the governor seemed to be expressing opposition to previous legislation that had already become law.
Balint said this year’s bill attempted to strike a balance between freedom of information and protecting the privacy of young Vermonters.
“The Senate worked hard on this issue and we felt we had that balance right,” she said. “We hope we can find a path forward and continue our broader work on juvenile justice in Vermont.”
Lisa Loomis, the president of the Vermont Press Association, thanked the governor for his decision to veto S.107 during Friday’s press conference.
Throughout the legislative process, the organization had argued against curtailing public records laws.
“Your veto letter is very clear and thoughtful as to why the bill needs more consideration and that bigger societal issues have to be addressed here in Vermont,” Loomis said Friday. “We appreciate your attention to those matters.”
