Vermont H 876: An act relating to miscellaneous amendments to the corrections laws

Bill Text

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H.876 1
Introduced by Representatives Harvey of Castleton, Goslant of Northfield, 2
Malay of Pittsford, and Oliver of Sheldon 3
Referred to Committee on 4
Date: 5
Subject: Crimes and criminal procedure; prosecution 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to require the 7
Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs and the Attorney General’s office 8
to submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly on data 9
regarding cases handled by the respective offices, including data on the 10
number of arrests or referrals for each offense, the number accepted for 11
prosecution, the number of cases referred to pre-charge court diversion, and the 12
number of dismissals either by the prosecution or the court with a categorical 13
description of why the case was dismissed and the dispositions of all cases. 14
An act relating to establishing an annual reporting requirement for 15
prosecutors 16
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 17
Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE 18
This act may be cited as the “Right to Know How Safe We Are Act of 19
2026.” 20

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Sec. 2. PURPOSE 1
The purpose of this act is to increase public accountability and safety by 2
requiring each State’s Attorney and the Attorney General’s office to file 3
reports with State lawmakers and the Governor summarizing the decisions 4
made by each office as investigations of crimes conclude. 5
Sec. 3. ANNUAL REPORTS 6
(a)(1) The Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs shall create an 7
annual statewide report based on aggregated, deidentified information obtained 8
from each State’s Attorney regarding the following information: 9
(A) the number of arrests or referrals for each offense, the number 10
accepted for prosecution, the number of cases referred to pre-charge court 11
diversion, and the number of dismissals either by the prosecution or the court 12
with a categorical description of why the case was dismissed; and 13
(B) disposition for all offenses, including the number of cases: 14
(i) disposed of through court diversion; 15
(ii) that result in a conviction based on a plea agreement; 16
(iii) dismissed by the prosecution because the defendant pled 17
guilty to a different offense; 18
(iv) dismissed by the prosecution because another prosecutor’s 19
office is pursuing the case; 20

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(v) dismissed by the court based on a finding of suppression of 1
evidence; 2
(vi) dismissed because a witness refuses to cooperate with the 3
prosecution; 4
(vii) dismissed by the court for any other reason, including legal 5
defect; 6
(viii) convictions based upon a trial before the court; and 7
(ix) convictions based upon a jury trial. 8
(2) The Department for State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs shall compile the 9
information acquired from each State’s Attorney in a uniform fashion 10
searchable by jurisdiction and offense. Each State’s Attorney’s office shall 11
provide the Department with any necessary information to effectuate this act. 12
(b)(1) The Attorney General shall create an annual statewide report based 13
on aggregated, deidentified information regarding the information required by 14
subdivision (a)(1) of this section on cases in which the Criminal Division of 15
the Attorney General’s office assumed responsibility. 16
(2) The Attorney General shall compile the information in a uniform 17
fashion searchable by jurisdiction and offense. 18
(c) The Attorney General and the Department for State’s Attorneys and 19
Sheriffs shall submit the annual reports required by this act on or before March 20
1 to the Governor and the General Assembly. 21

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Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE 1
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026. 2