The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 3: Executive

Chapter 068: Office of Racial Equity

• Subchapter 001: Executive Director of Racial Equity

• § 5001. Position

  (a) There is created within the Executive Branch the position of Executive Director of Racial Equity to identify and work to eradicate systemic racism within State government.

  (b) The Executive Director of Racial Equity shall have the powers and duties enumerated within section 2102 of this title and shall work collaboratively with and act as a liaison between the Governor’s Workforce Equity and Diversity Council, the Vermont Human Rights Commission, and the Governor’s Cabinet.

  (c) The Executive Director shall be housed within and have the administrative, legal, and technical support of the Agency of Administration.

  (d) The Executive Director shall report to and be under the general supervision of the Governor, or, to the extent such supervisory authority is delegated, the Secretary of Administration. The Administration shall not prevent or prohibit the Executive Director from initiating, carrying out, or completing the duties of the Executive Director as set forth in section 5003 of this title. (Added 2018, No. 9 (Sp. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 28, 2018.)

• § 5002. Racial Equity Advisory Panel

  (a) The Racial Equity Advisory Panel is established. The Panel shall be organized and have the duties and responsibilities as provided in this section. The Panel shall have the administrative, legal, and technical support of the Agency of Administration.

  (b)(1) The Panel shall consist of five members, as follows:

  (A) one member appointed by the Committee on Committees who shall not be a current legislator;

  (B) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House who shall not be a current legislator;

  (C) one member appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who shall not be a current legislator;

  (D) one member appointed by the Governor who shall not be a current legislator; and

  (E) one member appointed by the Human Rights Commission who shall not be a current legislator.

  (2) Members shall be drawn from diverse backgrounds to represent the interests of communities of color throughout the State, have experience working to implement racial justice reform and, to the extent possible, represent geographically diverse areas of the State.

  (3) The term of each member shall be three years, except, so that the term of one regular member expires in each ensuing year of the members first appointed, one shall serve a term of: one year, to be appointed by the Human Rights Commission; two years, to be appointed by the Governor; three years, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; four years, to be appointed by the Committee on Committees; and five years, to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. As terms of currently serving members expire, appointments of successors shall be in accord with the provisions of this subsection. Appointments of members to fill vacancies or expired terms shall be made by the authority that made the initial appointment to the vacated or expired term. Members shall serve until their successors are elected or appointed. Members shall serve not more than three consecutive terms in any capacity.

  (4) Members of the Panel shall elect by majority vote the Chair of the Panel, who shall serve for a term of three years after the implementation period. Members of the Panel shall be appointed on or before September 1, 2018 in order to prepare as they deem necessary for the establishment of the Panel, including the election of the Chair of the Panel. Terms of members shall officially begin on January 1, 2019.

  (c) The Panel shall have the following duties and responsibilities:

  (1) work with the Executive Director of Racial Equity to implement the reforms identified as necessary in the comprehensive organizational review as required by subsection 5003(a) of this title;

  (2) advise the Executive Director to ensure ongoing compliance with the purpose of this chapter, and advise the Governor on strategies for remediating systemic racial disparities in statewide systems of government; and

  (3) on or before January 15, 2020, and annually thereafter, report to the House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs and the Senate Committee on Government Operations on:

  (A) the extent to which the State is achieving the performance targets and measures as developed pursuant to subsection 5003(c) of this title; and

  (B) the nature and quality of the collaboration between the Governor’s Cabinet and the Executive Director.

  (d) Each member of the Panel shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 1010. (Added 2018, No. 9 (Sp. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 28, 2018.)

• § 5003. Duties of Executive Director of Racial Equity

  (a) The Executive Director of Racial Equity (Director) shall work with the agencies and departments to implement a program of continuing coordination and improvement of activities in State government in order to combat systemic racial disparities and measure progress toward fair and impartial governance, including:

  (1) overseeing a comprehensive organizational review to identify systemic racism in each of the three branches of State government and inventory systems in place that engender racial disparities;

  (2) managing and overseeing the statewide collection of race-based data to determine the nature and scope of racial discrimination within all systems of State government;

  (3) developing a model fairness and diversity policy and reviewing and making recommendations regarding the fairness and diversity policies held by all State government systems; and

  (4) temporarily overseeing the establishment of the Health Equity Advisory Commission established pursuant to 18 V.S.A. § 252 until the Office of Health Equity is established.

  (b) Pursuant to section 2102 of this title, the Director shall work collaboratively with State agencies and departments to gather relevant existing data and records necessary to carry out the purpose of this chapter and to develop best practices for remediating systemic racial disparities throughout State government.

  (c) The Director shall work with the agencies and departments and with the Chief Performance Officer to develop performance targets and performance measures for the General Assembly, the Judiciary, and the agencies and departments to evaluate respective results in improving systems. These performance measures shall be included in the agency’s or department’s quarterly reports to the Director, and the Director shall include each agency’s or department’s performance targets and performance measures in his or her annual reports to the General Assembly.

  (d) The Director shall, in consultation with the Department of Human Resources and the agencies and departments, develop and conduct trainings for agencies and departments regarding the nature and scope of systemic racism and the institutionalized nature of race-based bias. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to discharge the existing duty of the Department of Human Resources to conduct trainings.

  (e) The Executive Director of Racial Equity shall oversee the Division of Racial Justice Statistics (Division) established in subchapter 2 of this chapter.

  (1) The Director shall have general charge of the Division.

  (2) The Director may apply for grant funding, if available, to advance or support any responsibility within the Division’s jurisdiction.

  (f) The Director shall periodically report to the Racial Equity Advisory Panel and the Racial Disparities in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems Advisory Panel on the progress toward carrying out the duties as established by this section.

  (g) On or before January 15, 2020, and annually thereafter, the Director shall report to the House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs and the Senate Committee on Government Operations demonstrating the State’s progress in identifying and remediating systemic racial bias within State government. (Added 2018, No. 9 (Sp. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 28, 2018; amended 2021, No. 33, § 4; 2021, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2022.)

• § 5004. Information; disclosure and confidentiality

  (a) Confidentiality of records.

  (1) Any records transmitted to or obtained by the Executive Director of Racial Equity and the Racial Equity Advisory Panel that are exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act shall remain exempt and shall be kept confidential to the extent required by law.

  (2) Draft reports, working papers, and internal correspondence between the Director and the Panel shall be exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act and shall be kept confidential. The completed reports shall be public records.

  (b) Exceptions.

  (1) The Director and Panel members may make records available to each other, the Governor, and the Governor’s Cabinet as necessary to fulfill their duties as set forth in this chapter. They may also make records pertaining to any alleged violations of antidiscrimination statutes available to any State or federal law enforcement agency authorized to enforce such statutes.

  (2) Absent a court order for good cause shown or the prior written consent of an individual providing information or lawfully obtained records to the Director or the Panel, the Director and Panel Members may decline to disclose:

  (A) the identity of the individual if good cause exists to protect his or her confidentiality; and

  (B) materials pertaining to the individual, including written communications among the individual, the Director, and the Panel and recordings, notes, or summaries reflecting interviews or discussions among the individual, the Director, and the Panel. (Added 2018, No. 9 (Sp. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 28, 2018.)

• § 5005. Nomination and appointment process

  (a) The Racial Equity Advisory Panel shall select for consideration by the Panel, by majority vote, provided that a quorum is present, from the applications for the position of Executive Director of Racial Equity as many candidates as it deems qualified for the position.

  (b) The Panel shall submit to the Governor the names of the candidates deemed most qualified to be appointed to fill the position.

  (c) The Governor shall make the appointment to the Executive Director position from the list of qualified candidates submitted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. The names of candidates submitted and not selected shall remain confidential. (Added 2018, No. 9 (Sp. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 28, 2018.)

• Subchapter 002: Division of Racial Justice Statistics

• § 5011. Division of Racial Justice Statistics; creation; purpose

  (a) Creation. There is created within the Office of Racial Equity the Division of Racial Justice Statistics to collect and analyze data related to systemic racial bias and disparities within the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

  (b) Purpose. The mission of the Division is to collect and analyze data relating to racial disparities with the intent to center racial equity throughout these efforts. The purpose of the Division is to create, promote, and advance a system and structure that provides access to appropriate data and information, ensuring that privacy interests are protected and principles of transparency and accountability are clearly expressed. The data are to be used to inform policy decisions that work toward the amelioration of racial disparities across various systems of State government. (Added 2021, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2022.)

• § 5012. Duties

  (a) The Division shall have the following duties:

  (1) Work collaboratively with, and have the assistance of, all State and local agencies and departments identified pursuant to subdivision 5013(a)(2) of this title for purposes of collecting all data related to systemic racial bias and disparities within the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

  (2) Collect and analyze the data related to systemic racial bias and disparities within the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

  (3) Conduct justice information sharing gap analyses.

  (4) Maintain an inventory of justice technology assets and a data dictionary to identify elements and structure of databases and relationships, if any, to other databases.

  (5) Develop a justice technology strategic plan, which shall be updated annually. The justice technology strategic plan shall include identification and prioritization of data needs and requirements to fulfill new or emerging data research proposals or operational enhancements.

  (6) Develop interagency agreements and memorandums of understanding for data sharing and publish public use files.

  (7) Report its data, analyses, and recommendations to the Racial Justice Statistics Advisory Council and the Racial Disparities in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems Advisory Panel on a monthly basis.

  (b) On or before January 15, 2023 and annually thereafter, the Division shall report its data, analyses, and recommendations to the House Committees on Judiciary and on Government Operations and Military Affairs and the Senate Committees on Judiciary and on Government Operations. The report may include an operational assessment of the Division’s structure and staffing levels and any recommendations for necessary adjustments.

  (c) To carry out its duties under this subchapter, the Division may adopt procedural and substantive rules in accordance with the provisions of chapter 25 of this title. (Added 2021, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2022.)

• § 5013. Data governance

  (a) Data collection. In consultation with the Racial Disparities in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems Advisory Panel and the Racial Justice Statistics Advisory Council, the Division shall establish the data to be collected to carry out the duties of this subchapter.

  (1) Any data or records transmitted to or obtained by the Division that are exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act shall remain exempt and shall be kept confidential to the extent required by law. A State or local agency or department that transmits data or records to the Division shall be the sole records custodian for purposes of responding to requests for the data or records. The Division may direct any request for these data or records to the transmitting agency or department for response, provided that the Division shall respond to a Public Records Act request for nonidentifying data used by the Division for preparation of the reports required by subdivision 5012(a)(7) and subsection 5012(b) of this title.

  (2) The Division shall identify which State and local agencies or departments possess the data necessary for the Division to perform the requirements and objectives of this subchapter. An agency or department identified pursuant to this subdivision shall, upon request, provide the Division with any data that the Division determines is relevant to its purpose under subsection 5011(b) of this title, provided that the Office of the Defender General shall not be required to make any disclosures that would violate 1 V.S.A. § 317(c)(3). The Division may identify non-State entities that possess the data necessary for the Division to perform the requirements and objectives of this subchapter and have access to the data of an identified entity pursuant to a data sharing agreement or memorandum of understanding.

  (3) The Division shall, pursuant to section 218 of this title, establish, maintain, and implement an active and continuing management program for its records and information, including data, with support and services provided by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration pursuant to section 117 of this title and the Agency of Digital Services pursuant to section 3301 of this title.

  (b) Data analysis. The Division shall analyze the data collected pursuant to this subchapter in order to:

  (1) identify the stages of the criminal and juvenile justice systems at which racial bias and disparities are most likely to occur;

  (2) organize and synthesize the data in a cohesive and logical manner so that it can be best presented and understood; and

  (3) present the data to the Racial Justice Statistics Advisory Council as required under this subchapter.

  (c) Data governance policy. The Division shall develop and adopt a data governance policy and shall establish:

  (1) a system or systems to standardize the collection and retention of the data collected pursuant to this subchapter; and

  (2) methods to permit sharing and communication of the data between the State agencies, local agencies, and external researchers, including the use of data sharing agreements.

  (d) Data collection. The Division shall recommend to State and local agencies evidence-based practices and standards for the collection of racial justice data.

  (e) Publicly available data.

  (1) The Division shall maintain a public-facing website and dashboard that maximizes the transparency of the Division’s work and ensures the ability of the public and historically impacted communities to review and understand the data collected by the Division and its analyses.

  (2) The Division shall develop public use data files. (Added 2021, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2022.)

• [Section 5014 repealed effective June 30, 2027.]

  § 5014. Racial Justice Statistics Advisory Council

  (a) Creation. The Racial Justice Statistics Advisory Council is established within the Office of Racial Equity to serve in an advisory capacity to the Division of Racial Justice Statistics. The Council shall be organized and have the duties and responsibilities as provided in this section. The Council shall have the administrative, legal, and technical support of the Agency of Administration.

  (b) Membership.

  (1) Appointments. The Council shall consist of seven members, as follows:

  (A) an individual with substantive expertise in community-based research on racial equity, to be appointed by the Governor; and

  (B)(i) six individuals who have experience with or knowledge about one or more of the following situations:

  (I) facing eviction;

  (II) violence, discrimination, or criminal conduct, including law enforcement misconduct;

  (III) moving to Vermont as an immigrant or refugee;

  (IV) effects of racial disparities and discipline policies within the educational system; or

  (V) participation in treatment programs addressing mental health, substance use disorder, and reentry programs; and

  (ii) appointments made pursuant to this subdivision (B) shall be made by the following entities, each of which shall appoint one member: NAACP, Vermont Racial Justice Alliance, Migrant Justice, AALV Inc., Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, and Outright Vermont.

  (2) Qualifications. Members shall be drawn from diverse backgrounds to represent the interests of communities of color and other historically disadvantaged communities throughout the State and, to the extent possible, have experience working to implement racial justice reform and represent geographically diverse areas of the State.

  (3) Terms. The term of each member shall be four years. As terms of currently serving members expire, appointments of successors shall be in accord with the provisions of this section. Appointments of members to fill vacancies or expired terms shall be made by the authority that made the initial appointment to the vacated or expired term. Members shall serve until their successors are appointed. Members shall serve not more than two consecutive terms in any capacity.

  (4) Chair and terms. Members of the Council shall elect by majority vote the Chair of the Council. Members of the Council shall be appointed on or before November 1, 2022 in order to prepare as they deem necessary for the establishment of the Council, including the election of the Chair of the Council. Terms of members shall officially begin on January 1, 2023.

  (c) Duties. The Council shall have the following duties and responsibilities:

  (1) work with and assist the Director or designee to implement the requirements of this subchapter;

  (2) advise the Director to ensure ongoing compliance with the purpose of this subchapter;

  (3) evaluate the data and analyses received from the Division and make recommendations to the Division as a result of the evaluations;

  (4) report monthly on its findings and recommendations regarding the work of the Division to the Racial Disparities in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems Advisory Panel; and

  (5) on or before January 15, 2023 and annually thereafter, report to the House Committees on Judiciary and Government Operations and Military Affairs and the Senate Committees on Judiciary and Government Operations on:

  (A) its findings regarding systemic racial bias and disparities within the criminal and juvenile justice systems based upon the data and analyses the Council receives from the Division pursuant to subdivision 5012(a)(7) of this subchapter; and

  (B) a status report on progress made and recommendations for further action, including legislative proposals, to address systemic racial bias and disparities within the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

  (d) Meetings. The Council shall meet monthly.

  (e) Compensation. Each member of the Council shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 1010.

  (f) Repeal. This section shall be repealed on June 30, 2027. (Added 2021, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2022; amended 2023, No. 46, § 1, eff. June 5, 2023.)

• § 5015. Council services contingent on agency compliance

  (a) On and after July 1, 2023, a law enforcement agency shall be prohibited from having its law enforcement applicants or officers trained by the Vermont Police Academy or from otherwise using the services of the Vermont Criminal Justice Council if the agency is not in compliance with the requirements for providing data to the Division of Racial Justice Statistics pursuant to subdivision 5013(a)(2) of this chapter.

  (b) The Council shall adopt procedures to enforce the requirements of this section, which may allow for waivers for agencies under a plan to obtain compliance with this section.

  (c) As used in this section:

  (1) “Law enforcement agency” means the employer of a law enforcement officer.

  (2) “Law enforcement officer” means a member of the Department of Public Safety who exercises law enforcement powers; a member of the State Police; a Capitol Police officer; a municipal police officer; a constable who exercises law enforcement powers; a motor vehicle inspector; an employee of the Department of Liquor and Lottery who exercises law enforcement powers; an investigator employed by the Secretary of State; a Board of Medical Practice investigator employed by the Department of Health; an investigator employed by the Attorney General or a State’s Attorney; a fish and game warden; a sheriff; a deputy sheriff who exercises law enforcement powers; a railroad police officer commissioned pursuant to 5 V.S.A. chapter 68, subchapter 8; a police officer appointed to the University of Vermont’s Department of Police Services; or the provost marshal or assistant provost marshal of the Vermont National Guard. (Added 2021, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2022.)