Republican lawmakers are renewing their call for a law that would allow the state to hold violent criminals beyond their maximum prison terms.
The legislators say the state needs a way to keep dangerous criminals if they’re likely to commit crimes again.
They would be committed for mental health treatment when they were released from prison.
But Democrats who control the Vermont House have not been eager to embrace the concept, known as Civil Commitment.
The Judiciary Committee has decided in a straw poll against pursuing the proposal. Speaker Gaye Symington says the House will debate a bill designed to make the state’s communities safer but she won’t commit to making civil commitments part of it.