This bill amends Vermont's judicial procedures to clarify how courts handle profits obtained from crimes and strengthens protections for victims seeking financial recovery. It expands the legal definition of "profits from crimes" to include income generated from selling illicit goods, assets obtained through unique criminal knowledge, and property whose value increased due to the notoriety of a conviction. The legislation requires businesses that pay profits from crimes to notify the Attorney General, who must then inform all known victims. It also establishes a three-year window for victims to sue for damages up to the value of the profits and allows the state to recover certain incarceration costs if victims do not claim the full amount. Additionally, the bill updates penalties for minors under 21 who misrepresent their age to purchase alcohol, possess alcohol or cannabis, or drive with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.02 or higher.
This bill (H.875) amends Vermont law to criminalize the possession and promotion of computer-generated images that appear indistinguishable from real child sexual abuse material. It specifically targets AI-created images depicting minors engaging in sexual conduct if an ordinary person would believe they show actual children. The law includes limited exceptions for medical, academic, law enforcement, and AI safety testing (e.g., developers testing systems to prevent such content). It explicitly excludes paintings, drawings, and nonvisual descriptions from the ban. The bill directly affects individuals creating, sharing, or possessing such AI-generated images that meet the "indistinguishable" standard.
H.856 establishes Vermont's Drug Use Health and Safety Advisory Board to determine "benchmark personal use supply" amounts for regulated drugs, aiming to reduce criminal penalties for small-scale possession. The bill lowers penalties for low-level drug possession: reducing misdemeanor charges to a maximum $500 fine or six months in jail, and reclassifying some felony-level offenses as misdemeanors. The Advisory Board, composed of 13 members including people with lived drug use experience and harm reduction experts, must recommend these benchmarks by January 2027. These changes directly affect individuals possessing small, personal-use amounts of drugs like cocaine or LSD under specified thresholds.
This bill requires public defenders to represent low-income individuals in specific civil forfeiture cases, such as property seizures related to alcohol, drug offenses, or big game violations. It mandates that law enforcement and courts maintain detailed records of seized property - including its description, value, and disposition - and provide notice of the right to counsel. The law applies to cases under statutes covering livestock products, alcohol, wildlife violations, controlled substances, and vehicles. These provisions aim to ensure transparency in property seizures and access to legal representation for vulnerable individuals.
This bill prohibits Vermont's state, county, and local law enforcement agencies from receiving military-grade weapons transferred from the U.S. Department of Defense, military branches, or other federal agencies. It directly affects all Vermont law enforcement entities by blocking these specific federal transfers. The key mechanism is a clear ban on accepting such weapons from federal sources, preventing their acquisition through existing federal programs. The bill does not address weapons already in possession by law enforcement or restrict local purchases. It focuses solely on halting new transfers of military-grade equipment from federal entities to Vermont agencies.
H.780 establishes mandatory minimum prison sentences for repeat retail theft and specific drug trafficking offenses. For retail theft, it requires at least six months of consecutive prison time for fourth or subsequent offenses (over $250 value) and 12 months for fourth or subsequent offenses (over $900 value), with no suspension allowed. For drug trafficking (cannabis, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, or methamphetamine), it mandates at least 12 months of consecutive prison time for trafficking offenses, increasing to 24 months if the trafficking causes death or serious injury. The bill directly affects individuals convicted of these specific repeat or serious offenses, removing judicial discretion to reduce the minimum prison time for these cases.
This bill prohibits consuming cannabis (including smoking or vaping) in public places where tobacco use is already banned, such as streets, parks, sidewalks, and public buildings. It aligns cannabis consumption rules with existing tobacco restrictions, applying to all individuals regardless of age. The law defines "public prohibited places" as areas where tobacco use is prohibited under state law, and violations would be punished under existing cannabis possession penalties. It does not affect current laws about driving under the influence, school policies, or local ordinances on cannabis use. The bill takes effect July 1, 2026.
This bill establishes the Drug Use Health and Safety Advisory Board to determine "benchmark personal use supply" limits for each regulated drug (like cannabis), aiming to reduce criminal penalties for personal use. It lowers penalties for low-level drug possession offenses to a maximum $500 fine or six months in jail (instead of felony charges) and reclassifies some drug possession violations from felonies to misdemeanors. The bill eliminates the crime of dispensing regulated drugs, except when dispensing to someone under 21 (which remains a five-year felony). For cannabis specifically, it sets civil penalties for small amounts (e.g., up to $100 for first offense) and requires court diversion for first-time possession over certain limits.
H.382, the Vermont Justice Transparency Act, requires Vermont's Judiciary, crime information center, state's attorneys, sheriffs, and corrections department to collect and publicly post detailed criminal justice data. It mandates reporting on demographics (age, race, gender), case specifics (bail amounts, sentencing, plea deals), and system metrics (solitary confinement, opioid treatment in prisons, recidivism) starting between 2026 and 2028. The data must include county-level details and be posted online in accessible formats for public review. This law directly affects state agencies responsible for data collection and provides transparency for Vermont residents regarding criminal justice outcomes.
H.189 eliminates criminal penalties for possessing or dispensing small personal amounts of drugs in Vermont, directly affecting individuals currently facing misdemeanor charges for such activities. It creates the Community Care, Health, and Safety Special Fund, using 40% of cannabis tax revenue and opioid settlement funds to support community-based harm reduction services, overdose prevention, and substance use treatment. The bill requires law enforcement to provide service referrals (like treatment or harm reduction resources) instead of arresting people for small drug amounts, and establishes a new advisory board to define "personal use" quantities. This shift aims to reduce overdose deaths and racial disparities in drug enforcement while redirecting resources from prosecution toward public health services.
