S 181: An act relating to eliminating the requirement for a presentence investigation for imposition of a deferred sentence - Vermont

As IntroducedOpens in a new window → As Passed By the Senate (UnofficialOpens in a new window) · 2 edits · Apr 16, 2026

MINOR

The Senate passed S.181 with two substantive additions to the deferred sentence statute. First, a new provision requires that a presentence investigation be conducted for listed crimes (serious offenses) unless both the State's Attorney and the respondent agree to waive it. Second, a previously repealed condition was reactivated, requiring the court to review the presentence investigation and victim impact statement with the parties before deferring sentence without a written agreement. These changes add procedural safeguards for more serious offenses while maintaining the bill's overall goal of eliminating the blanket PSI requirement.

Scope change

The bill's scope is unchanged in terms of which offenses it covers, but the conditions under which a deferred sentence may be imposed are tightened for listed crimes (serious offenses) by requiring a PSI unless both parties waive it, and by reactivating the requirement that the court share the PSI and victim impact statement with the parties.

REQUIREMENT

New subsection (a)(2) requires that a presentence investigation be conducted when the offense is a listed crime under subdivision 5301(7), unless both the State's Attorney and the respondent agree to waive it. This creates a mandatory PSI for serious offenses even though the bill generally eliminates the blanket PSI requirement.

Subsection (b)(5) was previously marked as repealed but the repeal was removed in the Senate version, reactivating the condition that the court must review the presentence investigation and the victim's impact statement with the parties before deferring sentence without a written agreement between the State's Attorney and the respondent.

As EnactedOpens in a new window → As Passed by Both House and Senate (OfficialOpens in a new window) · 3 edits

MINOR

This diff compares the 'As Enacted' version of Vermont S.181 to the 'As Passed by Both House and Senate (Official)' version. The substantive policy content is identical in both versions; the differences are purely presentational. The enacted version includes the governor's signature date (May 6, 2026), while the as-passed version adds legislative introduction metadata (sponsor, date, committee referral) and uses a different page layout with line numbers.

TECHNICAL

The line 'Date Governor signed bill: May 6, 2026' was removed, which is expected since the as-passed version reflects the text before gubernatorial signature.

Legislative introduction metadata was added, including the sponsor (Senator Hashim), introduction date (January 6, 2026), committee referral (Judiciary), and a statement of purpose describing the bill's goal of eliminating the presentence investigation requirement for deferred sentences.

Formatting changed from a clean enacted layout (4 pages) to an official as-passed layout with line numbers and repeated section headers (7 pages). No policy language was altered.

As Passed by Both House and Senate (OfficialOpens in a new window) → As Passed by Both House and Senate (UnofficialOpens in a new window) · 2 edits

MINOR

This diff compares the official and unofficial versions of Vermont S.181, which eliminates the requirement for a presentence investigation before a court can impose a deferred sentence. The only differences are formatting and presentation: the official version includes legislative process metadata (sponsor name, committee referral, introduction date, statement of purpose) that is absent from the unofficial version, and the page count differs (7 pages vs. 4 pages). No substantive policy changes exist between the two versions.

TECHNICAL

The official version includes legislative process metadata (sponsor name 'Senator Hashim', committee referral to Judiciary, introduction date January 6 2026, and a statement of purpose paragraph) that is not present in the unofficial version.

Header changed from 'BILL AS INTRODUCED AND PASSED BY SENATE AND HOUSE' to 'AS PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE', and page count reduced from 7 to 4 pages, reflecting a more compact layout in the unofficial version.

As Passed By the Senate (OfficialOpens in a new window) → As EnactedOpens in a new window · 1 edit

MINOR

The enacted version of Vermont S.181 adds one new subsection, (a)(3), which gives courts discretion to order a presentence investigation for offenses that are not listed crimes. The Senate-passed version only addressed the presentence investigation requirement for listed crimes and was silent on non-listed crimes. All other changes are formatting-related (page headers, enrolled act number, governor's signature date).

REQUIREMENT

New subsection (a)(3) provides that if the offense is not a listed crime under subdivision 5301(7), the court may, at its discretion, order a presentence investigation. The Senate-passed version had no such provision for non-listed crimes.

As Passed By the Senate (UnofficialOpens in a new window) → As Passed By the Senate (OfficialOpens in a new window) · 3 edits · Apr 16, 2026

MINOR

This is a transition from the unofficial to the official version of Vermont Senate Bill S.181, which eliminates the requirement for a presentence investigation before a court can impose a deferred sentence. No substantive policy changes were made between versions. The official version adds standard legislative metadata (sponsor, committee referral, date, subject line, and a statement of purpose) and appends a full restatement of the amended statute at the end.

TECHNICAL

Added introduction metadata: sponsor (Senator Hashim), committee referral (Judiciary), date (January 6, 2026), subject line, and a statement of purpose paragraph.

Added a complete restatement of the amended section 7041 on pages 5-6, which is standard for Vermont official bill formats but does not change the law.

Header changed from 'AS PASSED BY SENATE' to 'BILL AS INTRODUCED AND PASSED BY SENATE' and page count increased from 4 to 6 pages due to the added metadata and full-text restatement.

An act relating to eliminating the requirement for a presentence investigation for imposition of a deferred sentence

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