An act relating to judicial retention and judicial nominations

This bill modifies Vermont's judicial retention process by requiring a single joint legislative vote for all judges seeking retention, establishing procedures for committee members to observe courtrooms in person or remotely, and adding empathy and understanding of equity and bias to the performance evaluation criteria for judges. The legislation also allocates $50,000 to reimburse the Judicial Nominating Board for paralegal services used during judicial nominations. These changes directly affect judges, justices, and magistrates in Vermont who face retention elections, as well as the legislative committee members who evaluate their performance. The bill aims to make the retention process more transparent and comprehensive by expanding how judicial performance is assessed and ensuring all retention votes occur together in one legislative session.