§ 8004. Identification, collection, and publication of laws regarding collateral consequences

(a)(1) The Attorney General shall:

(A) identify or cause to be identified any provision in this State's Constitution, statutes, and administrative rules which imposes a mandatory sanction or authorizes the imposition of a discretionary disqualification and any provision of law that may afford relief from a collateral consequence;

(B) prepare or compile from available sources a collection of citations to, and the text or short descriptions of, the provisions identified under subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this section not later than January 1, 2016; and

(C) update the collection provided under subdivision (B) of this subdivision (1) annually by January 1.

(2) In complying with subdivision (a)(1) of this section, the Attorney General may rely on or incorporate the summary of this State's mandatory sanctions, discretionary disqualifications, and relief provisions prepared by the National Institute of Justice described in Section 510 of the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-177, § 510, 121 Stat. 2534 (2008) as it exists and as it may be amended.

(b) The Attorney General shall include or cause to be included the following statements in a prominent manner at the beginning of the collection required by subsection (a) of this section:

(1) This collection has not been enacted into law and does not have the force of law.

(2) An error or omission in this collection or any reference work cited in this collection is not a reason for invalidating a plea, conviction, or sentence or for not imposing a mandatory sanction or authorizing a discretionary disqualification.

(3) The laws of other jurisdictions that impose additional mandatory sanctions and authorize additional discretionary disqualifications are not included in this collection.

(4) This collection does not include any law or other provision regarding the imposition of or relief from a mandatory sanction or a discretionary disqualification enacted or adopted after [insert date the collection was prepared or last updated].

(c) The Attorney General shall publish or cause to be published the collection prepared and updated as required by subsection (a) of this section.

(d) The Attorney General shall publish or cause to be published as part of the collection the title and Internet address, if available, of the most recent collection of:

(1) the collateral consequences imposed by federal law; and

(2) any provision of federal law that may afford relief from a collateral consequence.

(e) An agency that adopts a rule pursuant to 3 V.S.A. §§ 836-844 that implicates collateral consequences to a conviction shall forward a copy of the rule to the Attorney General. (Added 2013, No. 181 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2016.)