Lawmakers on Tuesday seemed poised to again perform a familiar ritual: further delaying the transfer of most 19-year-olds charged with crimes from criminal to family court.
In the halcyon days of 2018, lawmakers passed a law known colloquially as “Raise the Age” that would bring lower-level criminal cases for 18- and 19-year-olds into confidential family court.
Inspired by scientific studies showing that youths’ brains are still developing, lawmakers sought to keep young people out of adult prison and give them better access to rehabilitation. Per the law, teens who commit serious crimes are still charged in criminal court.
Eighteen-year-olds were brought into the family court system in 2020, with 19-year-olds scheduled to follow in 2022.
Instead, however, Gov. Phil Scott’s administration has repeatedly urged lawmakers to postpone that date or halt the remaining age-raising completely, saying state officials don’t have the resources to address the influx to family court. And lawmakers have obliged with repeated postponements of the effective date — most recently pushing the date from July 2024 to April 2025 in the last legislative session.
This year, lawmakers seem ready for a repeat. Earlier this month, Scott again asked for the repeal of the expansion to 19-year-olds, and repeated the call in his budget address Tuesday afternoon. Lawmakers again seem poised to delay it further.
On Tuesday, Rep. Martin Lalonde, D-South Burlington, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said it was “highly unlikely” that the expansion of Raise the Age would happen in April, as scheduled.
“I think bottom line is that we’re not ready to go to that next step yet,” he said.
Even Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central, a longtime proponent of the Raise the Age initiative, seemed to accept its further delay, nodding to the recent Republican gains in the Statehouse.
“I think, given the new realities in the Legislature, compromise is where it’s at,” he said at a press briefing Tuesday.
—Peter D’Auria and Ethan Weinstein
In the know
Gov. Scott has proposed a $9 billion budget to state lawmakers for the 2026 fiscal year. The spending plan, as in years past, prioritizes making the state more affordable and tackling demographic challenges, he said during a Tuesday afternoon address to the Legislature.
Scott said even with state coffers flush with better-than-expected revenues — about 4% higher than state economists had projected last year — substantial cost pressures limited what new investments he was proposing, or that lawmakers should propose, including increases in the cost of health insurance for state employees. Read more about his budget here.
— Shaun Robinson
State officials are trying to understand the potentially sweeping statewide impact of a vague and expansive memo from President Donald Trump’s administration, which requires federal agencies to freeze some financial assistance going to states. So far, Vermont officials have more questions than answers.
The directive to “temporarily pause” almost one-third of federal financial assistance was set to take effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Minutes before the deadline, the directive was temporarily blocked from going into effect by a federal district judge in Washington D.C. until Monday afternoon, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Vermont’s congressional delegation blasted the Trump administration over the memo in statements to the press. In a joint statement, Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, and Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt, said the “unconstitutional action” could impact thousands of Vermonters. Read more about their concerns here.
—- Emma Cotton
Guide on
VTDigger has launched its 2025 Vermont Legislative Guide to help you stay informed on the key players and policy proposals at the Statehouse this session.
You’ll find familiar favorites there, including the 2025 session bill tracker and explainer articles. This year, we’ve added explainers on the budget process and education finance and expanded our legislator lookup tools.
— VTD Editor
Read the story on VTDigger here: Final Reading: Another delay appears likely for Vermont’s Raise the Age initiative .