The Vermont House passed legislation this week that would create a new felony charge for repeated retail thefts and would ask the state Department of Corrections to reinstate a type of sentence that prosecutors see as a valuable alternative to incarceration.
Under current law, retail theft can be either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the value of property that a person steals. If that figure totals $900 or less, the charge is a misdemeanor — but if it surpasses $900, the charge bumps up to a felony.
Lawmakers said H.534 takes aim at repeat shoplifters, who now see relatively minor charges as long as the amount they steal each time is under that $900 threshold.
The bill would allow prosecutors to aggregate the value of multiple thefts and charge a felony if the combined figure is more than $900 — provided that the thefts occur within the same two-week period and at retailers located within the same county.
Rep. William Notte, D-Rutland City, told his colleagues on the House floor Wednesday that a more severe punishment — in this case, up to a $1,000 fine and 10 years in prison — could deter people from reoffending and make them more likely to come to court.
“It would combine smaller charges into one more serious charge, with more serious consequences,” Notte said. “And it would mean someone would, in an initial court appearance, have more to answer for.”
The new felony charge would sunset in 2027, which Notte said would allow future lawmakers to consider whether or not it proves to be an effective “tool in the toolbox.”
FBI data through 2022 shows that property crime increased in Vermont in the first years after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, though levels remain lower than they were a decade ago. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary committee heard repeated anecdotes this year from local leaders about increases in retail theft.
H.534 also includes language — which was tacked on from a separate bill, H.690 — that states it is the Legislature’s “intent” for the corrections department to reinstate its work crew program. The department ended the program last year, with officials saying it was no longer financially viable as fewer and fewer people were being referred to it.
Also called “preapproved furlough work crew” and the “community restitution program,” it allowed people convicted of crimes to serve a certain number of work days, thus avoiding prison time. The corrections department contracted with places such as food shelves, town governments and the Department of Fish & Wildlife for work crew jobs, officials have said.
At the time, prosecutors voiced opposition to ending the work crew program, arguing it could be an efficient way for defense attorneys and the state to resolve cases.
H.534 would, however, essentially amount to a statement of support for work that officials are already doing. Even before the bill was approved in the House, the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs was working with corrections leaders to draw up a revised version of the program, officials said this month.
A new type of ‘work crew’
There appears to be broad consensus that, if the corrections department brings back work crew, it needs to rethink the program and its potential outcomes.
Matt Valerio, Vermont’s defender general, pointed House lawmakers to data earlier this year showing that there were about 150 people with active arrest warrants for failing to appear for work crews around the time the program was winding down last year.
For many people, the program was effectively an intermediary step between “the outside” and going to prison, Valerio said, and it wasn’t helping rehabilitate offenders — none of whom had committed serious offenses in the first place.
Isaac Dayno, the corrections department’s policy director, said in an interview that he agreed with Valerio’s characterization. He said plans are for the department’s revised program to have less focus on “manual labor” — which he called “not very rehabilitative” — and more focus on connecting people with local service providers.
For instance, he said someone could be required to meet with a coach at a recovery support center, while still facing the consequence of possible incarceration if they didn’t. He said the department could also refer people to a nearby community justice center.
“We’re trying to redesign the program to meet those real underlying causes of criminal behavior in our communities,” he said, adding that the department is also trying to better respond to people who are committing crimes driven by substance use disorder.
Dayno has told lawmakers that the department does not plan to hire any additional staff, or request any additional funding, in order to stand up the program again.
How much of a burden these referrals would be on rehabilitation centers around the state would depend on how often prosecutors actually use the newly reinstated sentencing option, Dayno said, in response to a question. The program had only about 60 people statewide at the time it ended last year, he said.
Dayno pointed to $500,000 in this year’s Budget Adjustment Act, which Gov. Phil Scott signed into law on Wednesday, that the corrections department plans to give to recovery centers it already partners with that could help support new referrals.
While H.534’s language on work crews appeared to draw no opposition on the House floor this week, the measures on retail theft did. Ahead of the bill’s preliminary approval on Wednesday, several Progressive lawmakers, including Rep. Brian Cina, P/D-Burlington, said they would vote against the bill because the creation of a new felony charge could lead to more people facing lengthy prison sentences.
“I think we would all agree that it’s expensive to incarcerate someone,” Cina said. “So I question the justice in this penalty, not only on the individual, but on our community, on our society, on our taxpayers.”
Speaking later in defense of the bill, Rep. Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington and the Judiciary committee’s chair, said he sees the legislation as creating “the equivalent punishment and the equivalent consequences” for “equivalent behavior.” Someone would now face felony charges whether they steal a large amount of merchandise in one go, or over multiple instances, he said.
The bill will now move to the Senate.
