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title-1•Title 1 — General Provisions
The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated, provided as a convenience by the Vermont General Assembly. The official text is the printed Vermont Statutes Annotated published by LexisNexis.
[Repealed]
2001, No. 30, § 3.
Vermont Statutes Annotated, Revision of 1959, as published by the Commission to revise the statutory law of Vermont under No. 91 of the Acts of 1957, 1 V.S.A. §§ 1-9, are hereby enacted as positive statute law, exclusive of the prefatory subject matter, analyses, catchlines, notes, annotations, appendixes, tables, and indexes contained therein. They may be cited as —— V.S.A. § —— and they shall not, in any citation of the statutes, be considered as acts of the present year.
(Added 1959, No. 262, § 1, eff. June 11, 1959.)
Vermont Statutes Annotated shall take effect from and after July 1, 1959 except the parts thereof as to which a different provision is expressly made therein.
(Added 1959, No. 262, § 2, eff. June 11, 1959.)
[Repealed]
2013, No. 34, § 31.
The repeal of the Vermont Statutes, Revision of 1947, and acts of the General Assembly shall not affect associations or private corporations organized thereunder, but they may have and exercise the powers conferred thereby.
(Added 1959, No. 262, § 5, eff. June 11, 1959.)
When a limitation or period of time prescribed in an act repealed, for acquiring a right, or barring a remedy, or for any other purpose, has begun to run and the same or a similar limitation is prescribed in the Vermont Statutes Annotated, the time of limitation shall continue to run and shall have like effect as if the whole period had begun and ended under the operation of the Vermont Statutes Annotated.
(Added 1959, No. 262, § 6, eff. June 11, 1959.)
The provisions of the Vermont Statutes Annotated, so far as they are the same as those of existing laws, shall be construed as a continuation of those laws and not as new enactments.
(Added 1959, No. 262, § 7, eff. June 11, 1959.)
[Repealed]
2013, No. 34, § 31.
A copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated shall be kept in the office of the Secretary of State, to which copy that officer shall affix a certificate, under his or her hand and the Seal of the State, that the laws therein contained are the statute laws of the State of Vermont; and that certified copy shall be an authentic record of those laws.
(Added 1959, No. 262, § 9, eff. June 11, 1959.)
[Repealed]
2001, No. 30, § 3, eff. December 1, 2001.
In the construction of statutes, the rules set out in this chapter shall be observed, unless such construction is inconsistent with the manifest intent of the General Assembly or repugnant to the context of the same statute.
“Annual meeting” when applied to towns shall mean the annual town meeting in March or an adjournment thereof.
“Biennial” or “biennially” shall mean the year in which a regular session of the General Assembly is held.
“County” or “town” may mean the county or town in which the subject matter referred to is situate, belongs, or is cognizable.
“Domestic” when applied to a corporation, company, association, or copartnership shall mean organized under the laws of this State; “foreign,” when so applied shall mean organized under the laws of another state, government, or country.
“Fees” shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation.
“Folio” shall mean 100 words.
“General election” shall mean any election of State and county officers, Representatives to the General Assembly, U.S. Senators, Representative to Congress, or electors. “Local election” shall mean any election of town or village officers in towns or villages having more than 4,000 inhabitants.
“Grantor” may include every person by or from whom an estate or interest in land is passed in or by a deed. “Grantee” may include every person to whom such estate or interest passes.
“Highway” or “road” shall include bridges thereon and their approaches.
[Repealed]
2015, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 87(1).
“Issue” as applied to the descent of estates shall include the lawful lineal descendants of the ancestor.
“Justice” when applied to a person, other than a Justice of the Supreme Court, shall mean a justice of the peace for the county for which he or she is elected or appointed.
(Amended 1965, No. 194, § 10, operative Feb. 1, 1967; 1973, No. 249 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 9, 1974.)
“Magistrate” shall mean any Supreme Court Justice, Superior judge, District judge, or Probate judge.
(Amended 1969, No. 207 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 24, 1970; 1973, No. 249 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 9, 1974.)
“Month” shall mean a calendar month and “year” shall mean a calendar year and be equivalent to the expression “year of our Lord.”
[Repealed]
1967, No. 194, § 22, eff. March 1, 1968.
“Municipality” shall include a city, town, town school district, incorporated school or fire district, or incorporated village, and all other governmental incorporated units.
“Oath” shall include affirmation whereby law an affirmation may be substituted. In like cases, “sworn” shall include affirmed.
“Person” shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity.
(Amended 1969, No. 207 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. March 24, 1970.)
“Personal estate” shall include all property other than real estate.
“Population” or “inhabitants” shall mean the population of the political division referred to, as ascertained by the national census last completed before the time when such population is a material fact.
“Preceding” and “following” when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. “Such” and “said” when used by way of reference to a person or thing shall apply to the same person or thing last mentioned.
“Land,” “lands,” and “real estate” shall include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and all rights thereto and interests therein, and pews or slips in places of public worship shall be treated as real estate.
When a seal of a court, public officer, or corporation is required to be affixed to a paper, “seal” shall include an impression of the official seal made upon paper alone or by means of a wafer or wax affixed thereto.
When the private seal of a person or corporation is required on an instrument or writing to make such instrument or writing legal and valid, such seal shall consist of an impression as provided in section 133 of this title or of a wafer, wax, or other adhesive substance affixed thereto or of a paper or other similar substance affixed thereto or the word “seal” or the letters “L.S.” opposite the signature.
“Registered mail,” as the words appear in Vermont Statutes Annotated, the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Vermont Rules of Criminal Procedure, when used solely for the purpose of securing evidence of delivery, shall include any method of mail delivery requiring the signature of the addressee or his or her agent.
(Added 1979, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Apr. 24, 1980.)
“School officers” shall include all persons, other than teachers, who have to do with matters pertaining to public schools. The board of school directors of a town school district or the governing board of an incorporated school district shall constitute the legislative branch of such district.
“State” when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(Amended 1959, No. 262, § 11, eff. June 11, 1959.)
“Sworn” when applied to public officers required by the constitution to take certain oaths shall refer to those oaths; when applied to other officers, it shall mean sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of their offices before a person authorized to administer oaths.
When time is to be reckoned from a day, date, or an act done, such day, date, or day when such act is done shall not be included in the computation, unless otherwise provided.
“Town” shall include city and wards or precincts therein; “selectboard members” and “board of civil authority” shall extend to and include the mayor and aldermen of cities; “trustees” shall extend to and include bailiffs of incorporated villages; and the laws applicable to the inhabitants and officers of towns shall be applicable to the inhabitants and similar officers of all municipal corporations. This section shall be so construed as not to conflict with the acts of incorporation of or laws specially applicable to such municipal corporations.
(Amended 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 72.)
“Village” shall mean an incorporated village.
“Will” shall include codicils.
“Written” or “in writing” may include printing or other mode of representing words and letters, except where the written signature of a person is required.
The term “sexual orientation” means female or male homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. “Sexual orientation” shall not be construed to protect conduct otherwise proscribed by law.
(Added 1991, No. 135 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
The term “gender identity” means an individual’s actual or perceived gender identity, or gender-related characteristics intrinsically related to an individual’s gender or gender-identity, regardless of the individual’s assigned sex at birth.
(Added 2007, No. 41, § 1.)
The terms “include,” “includes,” and “including” mean that the language following the term is illustrative and not exhaustive and shall have the same meaning as though the term were followed by the words “but not limited to.”
(Added 2013, No. 5, § 1, eff. April 23, 2013.)
“Intellectual disability” or “person with an intellectual disability” shall mean an individual who has significantly subaverage intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior. “Intellectual disability” replaces what was previously known as “mental retardation.”
(Added 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 2b.)
“Psychiatric disability” means an impairment of thought, mood, perception, orientation, or memory that limits one or more major life activities but does not include intellectual disability.
(Added 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 2c.)
“Developmental disability” or “person with developmental disabilities” shall have the same meaning as in 18 V.S.A. § 9302.
(Added 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 2d.)
Unless a statute provides a more specific definition, “semiweekly” means twice per week.
(Added 2015, No. 57, § 34, eff. June 11, 2015.)
(a) “Gender-affirming health care services” means all supplies, care, and services of a medical, behavioral health, mental health, surgical, psychiatric, therapeutic, diagnostic, preventative, rehabilitative, or supportive nature, including medication, relating to the treatment of gender dysphoria and gender incongruence. “Gender-affirming health care services” does not include conversion therapy as defined by 18 V.S.A. § 8351.
(b)(1) “Legally protected health care activity” means:
(A) the exercise and enjoyment, or attempted exercise and enjoyment, by any person of rights to reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care services secured by this State;
(B) any act or omission undertaken to aid or encourage, or attempt to aid or encourage, any person in the exercise and enjoyment, or attempted exercise and enjoyment, of rights to reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care services secured by this State, provided that the provision of such a health care service by a person duly licensed under the laws of this State and physically present in this State shall be legally protected if the service is permitted under the laws of this State, regardless of the patient’s location; or
(C) the provision, issuance, or use of, or enrollment in, insurance or other health coverage for reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care services that are legal in this State, or any act to aid or encourage, or attempt to aid or encourage, any person in the provision, issuance, or use of, or enrollment in, insurance or other health coverage for those services, regardless of the location of the insured or individual seeking insurance or health coverage, if the insurance or health coverage is permitted under the laws of this State.
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection, the protections applicable to “legally protected health care activity” shall not apply to a lawsuit; judgment; or civil, criminal, or administrative action that is based on conduct for which an action would exist under the laws of this State if the course of conduct that forms the basis for liability had occurred entirely in this State.
(3) Notwithstanding subdivision (2) of this subsection, the provision of a health care service by a person duly licensed under the laws of this State and physically present in this State shall be legally protected if the service is permitted under the laws of this State, regardless of the patient’s location or whether the health care provider is licensed in the state where the patient is located at the time the service is rendered.
(4) The protections applicable to persons who engage in “legally protected health care activity” shall also apply to a person who has previously undertaken one or more acts or omissions while in another U.S. jurisdiction to aid or encourage, or attempt to aid or encourage, any person in the exercise and enjoyment, or attempted exercise and enjoyment, of rights to reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care services that would have been protected by this State if they had been undertaken in this State, provided that the acts or omissions were permissible under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the person was located at the time they were undertaken.
(c)(1) “Reproductive health care services” means all supplies, care, and services of a medical, behavioral health, mental health, surgical, psychiatric, therapeutic, diagnostic, preventative, rehabilitative, or supportive nature, including medication, relating to pregnancy, contraception, assisted reproduction, pregnancy loss management, or the termination of a pregnancy.
(2) “Reproductive health care services” includes medication that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for termination of a pregnancy as of January 1, 2023, regardless of the medication’s current FDA approval status:
(A) when such medication is procured, ordered, stored, distributed, prescribed, dispensed, or administered, or a combination thereof, by a person duly licensed under the laws of this State, as long as the licensee’s actions conform to the essential standards of acceptable and prevailing practice for the licensee’s profession; or
(B) when such medication is used by an individual.
(Added 2023, No. 14, § 1 and No. 15, § 1, both eff. May 10, 2023; amended 2025, No. 20, § 1, eff. May 13, 2025.)
“Behavioral health” means any behavioral condition bearing on health, including stress-linked physical symptoms, patient activation, and health behaviors that can be addressed through support, counseling, change techniques, coaching, and other interventions. As used in the Vermont Statutes Annotated, the term does not include mental health conditions or substance use disorders. The General Assembly recognizes that using the term “behavioral health” to describe mental health conditions or substance use disorders has a stigmatizing impact, which may deter individuals from seeking health care for those conditions, but also recognizes that some jurisdictions interpret the term to incorporate those conditions and that therefore it may be necessary under limited circumstances to include the term in the definition of health care services for the sole reason of avoiding any question about the intended scope of a specific statute.
(Added 2025, No. 21, § 3, eff. July 1, 2025.)
When a court, officer, or board is named by official title, such designation shall apply to the court, officer, or board of the county, town, or place within and for which they are qualified to act.
When joint authority is given to three or more, the concurrence of a majority of such number shall be sufficient and shall be required in its exercise.
Persons of the age of 18 years shall be considered of age and until they attain that age, shall be minors. Whenever referred to in the laws of this State, a person who is an adult or who has attained majority shall be a resident or nonresident person of 18 years of age or more.
(Amended 1971, No. 90, § 1; 1971, No. 184 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 29, 1972.)
When a notice is required to be given by publication in a newspaper, it shall mean a newspaper published in the county where the subject matter is situated, pending, or to be heard, or a newspaper published within the State that has a general circulation. In any case, in its discretion, the court may cause such notice to be further published in a newspaper that circulates in the neighborhood of the persons interested. Whenever a notice of any kind is required to be given by publication in a newspaper prior to a certain date for a certain number of weeks successively, it may be given by an insertion prior to such date once a week, for the number of successive weeks required, either in a daily, semiweekly, or weekly newspaper. If such publication is in a daily or semiweekly newspaper, such notice shall be inserted on the same day of each successive week.
Words importing the singular number may extend and be applied to more than one person or thing; words importing the plural number may be applied as if singular and words importing the masculine may extend and be applied to persons of the feminine gender.
The words “title,” “chapter,” and “section” when used by way of reference shall mean a title, chapter, or section of Vermont Statutes Annotated.
Marital status shall not be the sole or determinative factor of a person’s domicile.
(Added 1979, No. 139 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Apr. 23, 1980.)
The acts and resolutions printed or reproduced under 29 V.S.A. § 1115 shall be taken to be the laws and resolutions of the session of the General Assembly at which they were passed, unless the original act and legislative records show otherwise, in which case the original act and legislative records pertaining thereto shall control.
(Amended 1969, No. 90, § 1.)
Laws enacted by the General Assembly shall take effect on July 1 next following the date of their passage, unless it is otherwise specifically provided.
(Amended 1961, No. 228, § 1, eff. July 21, 1961; 1969, No. 207 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 1971.)
No act of the General Assembly shall affect a suit begun or pending at the time of its passage, except acts regulating practice in court, relating to the competency of witnesses, or relating to amendments of process or pleadings.
(Amended 2015, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
(a) The amendment or repeal of an act or of a provision of the Vermont Statutes Annotated shall not revive an act or statutory provision that has been repealed.
(b) The amendment or repeal of an act or statutory provision, except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, shall not:
(1) affect the operation of the act or provision prior to the effective date of the amendment or repeal thereof;
(2) affect any right, privilege, obligation, or liability acquired, accrued, or incurred prior to the effective date of the amendment or repeal;
(3) affect any violation of the act or provision amended or repealed, or any penalty or forfeiture incurred thereunder, prior to the effective date of the amendment or repeal;
(4) affect any suit, remedy, or proceeding to enforce or give effect to any right, privilege, obligation, or liability acquired, incurred, or accrued under the amended or repealed provision prior to the effective date of the amendment or repeal; and the suit, remedy, or proceeding may be instituted, prosecuted, or continued as if the act or provision had not been repealed or amended.
(c) If the penalty or punishment for any offense is reduced by the amendment of an act or statutory provision, the same shall be imposed in accordance with the act or provision as amended unless imposed prior to the date of the amendment.
(Amended 1969, No. 207 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. March 24, 1970.)
The provisions of any act are severable. If any provision of an act is invalid, or if any application thereof to any person or circumstance is invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
(Added 1969, No. 16, § 12, eff. March 11, 1969.)
So much of the common law of England as is applicable to the local situation and circumstances and is not repugnant to the Constitution or laws shall be laws in this State and courts shall take notice thereof and govern themselves accordingly.
In cases proper for the cognizance of the civil authority and the courts of judicature in this State, citizens of the United States shall be equally entitled to the privileges of law and justice with citizens of this State.
A person shall not be debarred on account of sex from holding any office or position of trust or responsibility under the State, including U.S. Senator and Representative to Congress or any county, town, city, village, town school district, or incorporated fire, lighting, or school district office.
As used in this subchapter:
(1) “Advisory body” means a public body that does not have supervision, control, or jurisdiction over legislative, quasi-judicial, tax, or budgetary matters.
(2) “Business of the public body” means the public body’s governmental functions, including any matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power.
(3) “Deliberations” means weighing, examining, and discussing the reasons for and against an act or decision, but expressly excludes the taking of evidence and the arguments of parties.
(4) “Hybrid meeting” means a meeting that includes both a designated physical meeting location and a designated electronic meeting platform.
(5)(A) “Meeting” means a gathering of a quorum of the members of a public body for the purpose of discussing the business of the public body or for the purpose of taking action.
(B) “Meeting” shall not mean any communication, including in person or through email, telephone, or teleconferencing, between members of a public body for the purpose of scheduling a meeting, organizing an agenda, or distributing materials to discuss at a meeting, provided that:
(i) no other business of the public body is discussed or conducted; and
(ii) such a communication that results in written or recorded information shall be available for inspection and copying under the Public Records Act as set forth in chapter 5, subchapter 3 of this title.
(C) “Meeting” shall not mean occasions when a quorum of a public body attends social gatherings, conventions, conferences, training programs, press conferences, media events, or otherwise gathers, provided that the public body does not discuss specific business of the public body that, at the time of the exchange, the participating members expect to be business of the public body at a later time.
(D) “Meeting” shall not mean a gathering of a quorum of a public body at a duly warned meeting of another public body, provided that the attending public body does not take action on its business.
(E) “Meeting” does not mean a gathering of the voters of a municipality for purposes of conducting an annual or special municipal meeting.
(6) “Public body” means any board, council, or commission of the State or one or more of its political subdivisions, any board, council, or commission of any agency, authority, or instrumentality of the State or one or more of its political subdivisions, or any committee or subcommittee of any of the foregoing boards, councils, or commissions, except that “public body” does not include:
(A) councils or similar groups established by the Governor for the sole purpose of advising the Governor with respect to policy; or
(B) the voters of a municipality at an annual or special municipal meeting.
(7) “Publicly announced” means that notice is given to an editor, publisher, or news director of a newspaper or radio station serving the area of the State in which the public body has jurisdiction, and to any person who has requested under subdivision 312(c)(5) of this title to be notified of special meetings.
(8) “Quasi-judicial proceeding” means a proceeding that is:
(A) a contested case under the Vermont Administrative Procedure Act; or
(B) a case in which the legal rights of one or more persons who are granted party status are adjudicated, which is conducted in such a way that all parties have opportunity to present evidence and to cross-examine witnesses presented by other parties, which results in a written decision, and the result of which is appealable by a party to a higher authority.
(9) “Undue hardship” means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense to the unit of government to which a public body belongs, considered in light of factors including the overall size of the entity, the availability of necessary personnel and staff, the entity’s available resources, and the costs associated with compliance.
(Added 1987, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2013, No. 143 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2017, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2023, No. 133 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 1, 2024; 2025, No. 51, § 1, eff. June 9, 2025; 2025, No. 70, § 29, eff. June 25, 2025.)
(a) In enacting this subchapter, the Legislature finds and declares that public commissions, boards, and councils and other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business and are accountable to them pursuant to Chapter I, Article VI of the Vermont Constitution.
(b) This subchapter may be known and cited as the Vermont Open Meeting Law.
(Amended 1979, No. 151 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 24, 1980.)
(a)(1) All meetings of a public body are declared to be open to the public at all times, except as provided in section 313 of this title. No resolution, rule, regulation, appointment, or formal action shall be considered binding except as taken or made at such open meeting, except as provided under subdivision 313(a)(2) of this title. A meeting of a public body is subject to the public accommodation requirements of 9 V.S.A. chapter 139. A public body shall electronically record all public hearings held to provide a forum for public comment on a proposed rule, pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 840. The public shall have access to copies of such electronic recordings as described in section 316 of this title.
(2) Participation in meetings through electronic or other means.
(A) As long as the requirements of this subchapter are met, one or more of the members of a public body may attend a regular, special, or emergency meeting by electronic or other means without being physically present at a designated meeting location.
(B) If one or more members attend a meeting by electronic or other means, such members may fully participate in discussing the business of the public body and voting to take an action, but any vote of the public body that is not unanimous shall be taken by roll call.
(C) Each member who attends a meeting without being physically present at a designated meeting location shall:
(i) identify himself or herself when the meeting is convened; and
(ii) be able to hear the conduct of the meeting and be heard throughout the meeting.
(D) If a quorum or more of the members of a public body attend a meeting without being physically present at a designated meeting location, the agenda required under subsection (d) of this section shall designate at least one physical location where a member of the public can attend and participate in the meeting. At least one member of the public body, or at least one staff or designee of the public body, shall be physically present at each designated meeting location. The requirements of this subdivision (D) shall not apply to advisory bodies.
(3)(A) State public bodies; hybrid meeting requirement; exception for advisory bodies. Any public body of the State, except advisory bodies, shall:
(i) hold all regular and special meetings in a hybrid fashion, which shall include both a designated physical meeting location and a designated electronic meeting platform;
(ii) electronically record all meetings; and
(iii) for a minimum of 30 days following the approval and posting of the official minutes for a meeting, retain the audiovisual recording and post the recording in a designated electronic location.
(B) Exception; site inspections and field visits. This subdivision (3) shall not apply to gatherings of a State public body for purposes of a site inspection or field visit.
(C) Application of subdivision; State public bodies only. This subdivision (3) applies exclusively to State public bodies.
(4) State and local advisory bodies; electronic meetings without a physical meeting location. A quorum or more of the members of an advisory body may attend any meeting of the advisory body by electronic or other means without being physically present at or staffing a designated meeting location. A quorum or more of the members of any public body may attend an emergency meeting of the body by electronic or other means without being physically present at or staffing a designated meeting location.
(5) State public bodies; State and local advisory bodies; designating electronic platforms. A public body meeting pursuant to subdivision (3) or advisory body meeting pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection shall designate and use an electronic platform that allows the direct access, attendance, and participation of the public, including access by telephone. The public body shall post information that enables the public to directly access the designated electronic platform and include this information in the published agenda or public notice for the meeting.
(6) Local public bodies; meeting recordings.
(A) A public body of a municipality or political subdivision, except advisory bodies, shall record or cause to record, in audio or video form, any meeting of the public body and post a copy of the recording in a designated electronic location for a minimum of 30 days following the posting of the minutes for a meeting. This subdivision (A) shall not apply to gatherings of a public body for purposes of a site inspection or field visit.
(B) A municipality is exempt from subdivision (A) of this subdivision (6) if compliance would impose an undue hardship on the municipality.
(C) A municipality shall have the burden of proving that compliance under this section would impose an undue hardship on the municipality.
(b)(1) Minutes shall be taken of all meetings of public bodies. The minutes shall cover all topics and motions that arise at the meeting and give a true indication of the business of the meeting. Minutes shall include at least the following minimal information:
(A) all members of the public body present;
(B) all other active participants in the meeting;
(C) all motions, proposals, and resolutions made, offered, and considered, and what disposition is made of same; and
(D) the results of any votes, with a record of the individual vote of each member if a roll call is taken.
(2) Minutes of all public meetings shall be matters of public record, shall be kept by the clerk or secretary of the public body, and shall be available for inspection by any person and for purchase of copies at cost upon request after five calendar days from the date of any meeting. Meeting minutes shall be posted no later than five calendar days from the date of the meeting to a website, if one exists, that the public body maintains or has designated as the official website of the body. Except for draft minutes that have been substituted with updated minutes, posted minutes shall not be removed from the website sooner than one year from the date of the meeting for which the minutes were taken.
(c)(1) The time and place of all regular meetings subject to this section shall be clearly designated by statute, charter, regulation, ordinance, bylaw, resolution, or other determining authority of the public body, and this information shall be available to any person upon request. The time and place of all public hearings and meetings scheduled by all Executive Branch State agencies, departments, boards, or commissions shall be available to the public as required under 3 V.S.A. § 2222(c).
(2) The time, place, and purpose of a special meeting subject to this section shall be publicly announced at least 24 hours before the meeting. Municipal public bodies shall post notices of special meetings in or near the municipal clerk’s office and in at least two other designated public places in the municipality or a neighboring municipality, at least 24 hours before the meeting. In addition, notice shall be given, either orally or in writing, to each member of the public body at least 24 hours before the meeting, except that a member may waive notice of a special meeting.
(3) Emergency meetings may be held without public announcement, without posting of notices, and without 24-hour notice to members, provided some public notice thereof is given as soon as possible before any such meeting. Emergency meetings may be held only when necessary to respond to an unforeseen occurrence or condition requiring immediate attention by the public body.
(4) Any adjourned meeting shall be considered a new meeting, unless the time and place for the adjourned meeting is announced before the meeting adjourns.
(5) A person may request in writing that a public body notify the person of special meetings of the public body. The request shall apply only to the calendar year in which it is made, unless made in December, in which case it shall apply also to the following year.
(d)(1) At least 48 hours prior to a regular meeting, and at least 24 hours prior to a special meeting, a meeting agenda shall be:
(A) posted to a website, if one exists, that the public body maintains or designates as the official website of the body; and
(B) in the case of a municipal public body, posted in or near the municipal office and in at least two other designated public places in the municipality or a neighboring municipality.
(2) A meeting agenda shall be made available to a person prior to the meeting upon specific request.
(3) A meeting agenda shall contain sufficient details concerning the specific matters to be discussed by the public body. Whenever a public body includes an executive session as an item on a posted meeting agenda, the public body shall list the agenda item as “proposed executive session” and indicate the nature of the business of the executive session.
(4)(A) Any addition to or deletion from the agenda shall be made as the first act of business at the meeting.
(B) Any other adjustment to the agenda may be made at any time during the meeting.
(e) Nothing in this section or in section 313 of this title shall be construed as extending to the Judicial Branch of the Government of Vermont or of any part of the same or to the Public Utility Commission; nor shall it extend to the deliberations of any public body in connection with a quasi-judicial proceeding; nor shall anything in this section be construed to require the making public of any proceedings, records, or acts that are specifically made confidential by the laws of the United States of America or of this State.
(f) A written decision issued by a public body in connection with a quasi-judicial proceeding need not be adopted at an open meeting if the decision will be a public record.
(g) The provisions of this subchapter shall not apply to site inspections for the purpose of assessing damage or making tax assessments or abatements, clerical work, or work assignments of staff or other personnel. Routine, day-to-day administrative matters that do not require action by the public body may be conducted outside a duly warned meeting, provided that no money is appropriated, expended, or encumbered.
(h) At an open meeting, the public shall be given a reasonable opportunity to express its opinion on matters considered by the public body during the meeting, as long as order is maintained. Public comment shall be subject to reasonable rules established by the chairperson. This subsection shall not apply to quasi-judicial proceedings.
(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Parole Board from meeting at correctional facilities, with attendance at the meeting subject to rules regarding access and security established by the superintendent of the facility.
(j) Request for access.
(1) A resident of the geographic area in which the public body has jurisdiction, a member of a public body, or a member of the press may request that a public body designate a physical meeting location or provide electronic or telephonic access to a regular meeting, but not to a series of regular meetings, special meetings, emergency meetings, or field visits.
(2) The request shall be made in writing, as specified by the public body, not less than two business days before the date of the meeting. The public body shall not require the requestor to provide a basis for the request.
(3) The public body shall grant the request unless:
(A) there is an all-hazards event as defined in 20 V.S.A. § 2 or a state of emergency declared pursuant to 20 V.S.A. §§ 9 and 11;
(B) there is a local incident as defined in section 312a of this subchapter; or
(C) compliance would impose an undue hardship on the municipality.
(4) A public body shall have the burden of proving that compliance under subdivision (3) of this subsection would impose an undue hardship on the public body.
(k) Training.
(1) Annually, the following officers shall participate in a professional training that addresses the procedures and requirements of this subchapter:
(A) for municipalities and political subdivisions, the chair of the legislative body, town manager, and mayor;
(B) for the State, the chair of any public body that is not an advisory body; and
(C) the members of a State advisory body, provided that the advisory body is composed entirely of members who are not government officers or employees.
(2) The Secretary of State shall develop the training required by subdivision (1) of this subsection and make the training available to municipalities and political subdivisions and public bodies. The training may be in person, online, and synchronous or asynchronous.
(Amended 1973, No. 78, § 1, eff. April 23, 1973; 1979, No. 151 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1987, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1997, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 64, eff. April 29, 1998; 1999, No. 146 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; 2013, No. 143 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2015, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 24, 2016; 2023, No. 133 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. July 1, 2024; 2023, No. 133 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. January 1, 2025; 2025, No. 51, § 2, eff. June 9, 2025.)
(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Affected public body” means a public body:
(A) whose regular meeting location is located in an area affected by a hazard or local incident; and
(B) that cannot meet in a designated physical meeting location due to a declared state of emergency pursuant to 20 V.S.A. chapter 1 or local incident.
(2) “Directly impedes” means interferes or obstructs in a manner that makes it infeasible for a public body to meet either at a designated physical location or through electronic means.
(3) “Hazard” means an “all-hazards” as defined in 20 V.S.A. § 2(1).
(4) “Local incident” means a weather event, loss of power or telecommunication services, public health emergency, public safety threat, received threat that a member of the public body believes may place the member or another person in reasonable apprehension of death or serious bodily injury, or other event that directly impedes the ability of a public body to hold a meeting electronically or in a designated physical location.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivisions 312(a)(2)(D), (a)(3), and (c)(2) of this title, during a local incident or declared state of emergency under 20 V.S.A. chapter 1:
(1) A quorum or more of an affected public body may attend a regular, special, or emergency meeting by electronic or other means without designating a physical meeting location where the public may attend.
(2) The members and staff of an affected public body shall not be required to be physically present at a designated meeting location.
(3) An affected public body of a municipality may post any meeting agenda or notice of a special meeting in two publicly accessible designated electronic locations in lieu of the two designated public places in the municipality, or in a combination of a designated electronic location and a designated public place.
(c) Before a public body may meet under the authority provided in this section for meetings held during a local incident, the highest ranking elected or appointed officer of the public body shall make a formal written finding and announcement of the local incident, including the basis for the finding.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision 312(a)(3) of this title, during a local incident that impedes an affected public body’s ability to hold a meeting by electronic means, the affected public body may hold a meeting exclusively at a designated physical meeting location.
(e) When an affected public body meets electronically under subsection (b) of this section, the affected public body shall:
(1) use technology that permits the attendance and participation of the public through electronic or other means;
(2) allow the public to access the meeting by telephone;
(3) post information that enables the public to directly access and participate in meetings electronically and shall include this information in the published agenda for each meeting; and
(4) if applicable, publicly announce and post a notice that the meeting will not be held in a hybrid fashion and will be held either in a designated physical meeting location or through electronic means.
(f) Unless unusual circumstances make it impossible for them to do so, the legislative body of each municipality and each school board shall record any meetings held pursuant to this section.
(g) An affected public body of a municipality shall continue to post notices and agendas in or near the municipal clerk’s office pursuant to subdivision 312(c)(2) of this title and shall provide a copy of each notice or agenda to the newspapers of general circulation for the municipality.
(Added 2021, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. July 1, 2022; amended 2023, No. 133 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. July 1, 2024.)
(a) No public body may hold or conclude an executive session from which the public is excluded, except by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members present in the case of any public body of State government or of a majority of its members present in the case of any public body of a municipality or other political subdivision. A motion to go into executive session shall indicate the nature of the business of the executive session, and no other matter may be considered in the executive session. The vote to enter executive session shall be taken in the course of an open meeting and the result of the vote recorded in the minutes. No formal or binding action shall be taken in executive session except for actions relating to the securing of real estate options under subdivision (2) of this subsection. Minutes of an executive session need not be taken, but if they are, the minutes shall, notwithstanding subsection 312(b) of this title, be exempt from public copying and inspection under the Public Records Act. A public body may not hold an executive session except to consider one or more of the following:
(1) after making a specific finding that premature general public knowledge would clearly place the public body or a person involved at a substantial disadvantage:
(A) contracts;
(B) labor relations agreements with employees;
(C) arbitration or mediation;
(D) grievances, other than tax grievances;
(E) pending or probable civil litigation or a prosecution, to which the public body is or may be a party;
(F) confidential attorney-client communications made for the purpose of providing professional legal services to the body;
(2) the negotiating or securing of real estate purchase or lease options;
(3) the appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee, provided that the public body shall make a final decision to hire or appoint a public officer or employee in an open meeting and shall explain the reasons for its final decision during the open meeting;
(4) a disciplinary or dismissal action against a public officer or employee; but nothing in this subsection shall be construed to impair the right of such officer or employee to a public hearing if formal charges are brought;
(5) a clear and imminent peril to the public safety;
(6) records exempt from the access to public records provisions of section 316 of this title; provided, however, that discussion of the exempt record shall not itself permit an extension of the executive session to the general subject to which the record pertains;
(7) the academic records or suspension or discipline of students;
(8) testimony from a person in a parole proceeding conducted by the Parole Board if public disclosure of the identity of the person could result in physical or other harm to the person;
(9) information relating to a pharmaceutical rebate or to supplemental rebate agreements, which is protected from disclosure by federal law or the terms and conditions required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a condition of rebate authorization under the Medicaid program, considered pursuant to 33 V.S.A. §§ 1998(f)(2) and 2002(c);
(10) security, cybersecurity, or emergency response measures, the disclosure of which could jeopardize public safety; or
(11) confidential business information relating to the interest rates for publicly financed loans, provided that the public body is a State public body and the creditor for the loan.
(b) Attendance in executive session shall be limited to members of the public body, and, in the discretion of the public body, its staff, clerical assistants and legal counsel, and persons who are subjects of the discussion or whose information is needed.
(c) The Senate and House of Representatives, in exercising the power to make their own rules conferred by Chapter II of the Vermont Constitution, shall be governed by the provisions of this section in regulating the admission of the public as provided in Chapter II, § 8 of the Constitution.
(Amended 1973, No. 78, § 2, eff. April 23, 1973; 1979, No. 151 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 24, 1980; 1987, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 3, 4; 1997, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 65, eff. April 29, 1998; 2005, No. 71, § 308a, eff. June 21, 2005; 2011, No. 59, § 7; 2013, No. 143 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2015, No. 23, § 1; 2017, No. 95 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 11, 2018; 2025, No. 51, § 3, eff. June 9, 2025.)
(a) A person who is a member of a public body and who knowingly and intentionally violates the provisions of this subchapter, a person who knowingly and intentionally violates the provisions of this subchapter on behalf or at the behest of a public body, or a person who knowingly and intentionally participates in the wrongful exclusion of any person or persons from any meeting subject to this subchapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $500.00.
(b)(1) Prior to instituting an action under subsection (c) of this section, the Attorney General or any person aggrieved by a violation of the provisions of this subchapter shall provide the public body written notice that alleges a specific violation of this subchapter and requests a specific cure of such violation. The public body will not be liable for attorney’s fees and litigation costs under subsection (d) of this section if it cures in fact a violation of this subchapter in accordance with the requirements of this subsection.
(2) Upon receipt of the written notice of alleged violation, the public body shall respond publicly to the alleged violation within 10 calendar days by:
(A) acknowledging the violation of this subchapter and stating an intent to cure the violation within 14 calendar days; or
(B) stating that the public body has determined that no violation has occurred and that no cure is necessary.
(3) Failure of a public body to respond to a written notice of alleged violation within 10 calendar days shall be treated as a denial of the violation for purposes of enforcement of the requirements of this subchapter.
(4) Within 14 calendar days after a public body acknowledges a violation under subdivision (2)(A) of this subsection, the public body shall cure the violation at an open meeting by:
(A) either ratifying, or declaring as void, any action taken at or resulting from:
(i) a meeting that was not noticed in accordance with subsection 312(c) of this title; or
(ii) a meeting that a person or the public was wrongfully excluded from attending; or
(iii) an executive session or portion thereof not authorized under subdivisions 313(a)(1)-(10) of this title; and
(B) adopting specific measures that actually prevent future violations.
(c) Following an acknowledgment or denial of a violation and, if applicable, following expiration of the 14-calendar-day cure period for public bodies acknowledging a violation, the Attorney General or any person aggrieved by a violation of the provisions of this subchapter may bring an action in the Civil Division of the Superior Court in the county in which the violation has taken place for appropriate injunctive relief or for a declaratory judgment. An action may be brought under this section no later than one year after the meeting at which the alleged violation occurred or to which the alleged violation relates. Except as to cases the court considers of greater importance, proceedings before the Civil Division of the Superior Court, as authorized by this section and appeals therefrom, take precedence on the docket over all cases and shall be assigned for hearing and trial or for argument at the earliest practicable date and expedited in every way.
(d) The court shall assess against a public body found to have violated the requirements of this subchapter reasonable attorney’s fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any case under this subchapter in which the complainant has substantially prevailed, unless the court finds that:
(1)(A) the public body had a reasonable basis in fact and law for its position; and
(B) the public body acted in good faith. In determining whether a public body acted in good faith, the court shall consider, among other factors, whether the public body responded to a notice of an alleged violation of this subchapter in a timely manner under subsection (b) of this section; or
(2) the public body cured the violation in accordance with subsection (b) of this section.
(e) A municipality shall post on its website, if it maintains one:
(1) an explanation of the procedures for submitting notice of an Open Meeting Law violation to the public body or the Attorney General; and
(2) a copy of the text of this section.
(Amended 1979, No. 151 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. April 24, 1980; 1987, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 2013, No. 143 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2015, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 24, 2016; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2023, No. 133 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. July 1, 2024.)
(a) It is the policy of this subchapter to provide for free and open examination of records consistent with Chapter I, Article 6 of the Vermont Constitution. Officers of government are trustees and servants of the people and it is in the public interest to enable any person to review and criticize their decisions even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment. All people, however, have a right to privacy in their personal and economic pursuits, which ought to be protected unless specific information is needed to review the action of a governmental officer. Consistent with these principles, the General Assembly hereby declares that certain public records shall be made available to any person as hereinafter provided. To that end, the provisions of this subchapter shall be liberally construed to implement this policy, and the burden of proof shall be on the public agency to sustain its action.
(b) The General Assembly finds that public records are essential to the administration of State and local government. Public records contain information that allows government programs to function, provides officials with a basis for making decisions, and ensures continuity with past operations. Public records document the legal responsibilities of government, help protect the rights of citizens, and provide citizens a means of monitoring government programs and measuring the performance of public officials. Public records provide documentation for the functioning of government and for the retrospective analysis of the development of Vermont government and the impact of programs on citizens.
(c) This subchapter may be known and cited as the Public Records Act or the PRA.
(Added 1975, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2011, No. 59, § 1; 2015, No. 29, § 1; 2017, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)
(a) Any person may inspect or copy any public record of a public agency, as follows:
(1) For any agency, board, department, commission, committee, branch, instrumentality, or authority of the State, a person may inspect a public record on any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, between the hours of nine o’clock and 12 o’clock in the forenoon and between one o’clock and four o’clock in the afternoon.
(2) For any agency, board, committee, department, instrumentality, commission, or authority of a political subdivision of the State, a person may inspect a public record during customary business hours.
(b) If copying equipment maintained for use by a public agency is used by the agency to copy the public record or document requested, the agency may charge and collect from the person requesting the copy the actual cost of providing the copy. The agency may also charge and collect from the person making the request, the costs associated with mailing or transmitting the record by facsimile or other electronic means. Nothing in this section shall exempt any person from paying fees otherwise established by law for obtaining copies of public records or documents, but if such fee is established for the copy, no additional costs or fees shall be charged.
(c) Unless otherwise provided by law, in the following instances an agency may also charge and collect the cost of staff time associated with complying with a request for a copy of a public record: (1) the time directly involved in complying with the request exceeds 30 minutes; (2) the agency agrees to create a public record; or (3) the agency agrees to provide the public record in a nonstandard format and the time directly involved in complying with the request exceeds 30 minutes. The agency may require that requests subject to staff time charges under this subsection be made in writing and that all charges be paid, in whole or in part, prior to delivery of the copies. Upon request, the agency shall provide an estimate of the charge.
(d) The Secretary of State, after consultation with the Secretary of Administration, shall establish the actual cost of providing a copy of a public record that may be charged by State agencies. The Secretary shall also establish the amount that may be charged for staff time, when such a charge is authorized under this section. To determine “actual cost,” the Secretary shall consider the following only: the cost of the paper or the electronic media onto which a public record is copied, a prorated amount for maintenance and replacement of the machine or equipment used to copy the record, and any utility charges directly associated with copying a record. The Secretary of State shall adopt, by rule, a uniform schedule of public record charges for State agencies.
(e) After public hearing, the legislative body of a political subdivision shall establish actual cost charges for copies of public records. The legislative body shall also establish the amount that may be charged for staff time, when such a charge is authorized under this section. To determine actual cost charges, the legislative body shall use the same factors used by the Secretary of State. If a legislative body fails to establish a uniform schedule of charges, the charges for that political subdivision shall be the uniform schedule of charges established by the Secretary of State until the local legislative body establishes such a schedule. A schedule of public records charges shall be posted in prominent locations in the town offices.
(f) State agencies shall provide receipts for all monies received under this section. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a State agency may retain monies collected under this section to the extent such charges represent the actual cost incurred to provide copies under this subchapter. Amounts collected by a State agency under this section for the cost of staff time associated with providing copies shall be deposited in the General Fund, unless another disposition or use of revenues received by that agency is specifically authorized by law. Charges collected under this section shall be deposited in the agency’s operating account or the General Fund, as appropriate, on a monthly basis or whenever the amount totals $100.00, whichever occurs first.
(g) A public agency having the equipment necessary to copy its public records shall utilize its equipment to produce copies. If the public agency does not have such equipment, nothing in this section shall be construed to require the public agency to provide or arrange for copying service, to use or permit the use of copying equipment other than its own, to permit operation of its copying equipment by other than its own personnel, to permit removal of the public record by the requesting person for purposes of copying, or to make its own personnel available for making handwritten or typed copies of the public record or document requested.
(h) Standard formats for copies of public records shall be as follows: for copies in paper form, a photocopy of a paper public record or a hard copy print-out of a public record maintained in electronic form; for copies in electronic form, the format in which the record is maintained. Any format other than the formats described in this subsection is a nonstandard format.
(i) If an agency maintains public records in an electronic format, nonexempt public records shall be available for copying in either the standard electronic format or the standard paper format, as designated by the party requesting the records. If requested by the party requesting the records, an agency may, but is not required to, provide copies of public records in a nonstandard format, create a public record, or convert paper public records to electronic format.
(j) A public agency may make reasonable rules to prevent disruption of operations, to preserve the security of public records or documents, and to protect them from damage.
(k) Information concerning facilities and sites for the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste shall be made available to the public under this subchapter in substantially the same manner and to the same degree as such information is made available under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, 42 U.S.C. chapter 82, subchapter 3, and the Federal Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. section 552 et seq. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this subchapter and the cited federal laws, federal law shall govern.
(Added 1975, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1987, No. 85, § 5, eff. June 9, 1987; 1995, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2003, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2011, No. 59, § 2; 2021, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 12a, eff. July 1, 2022.)
(a) As used in this subchapter:
(1) “Business day” means a day that a public agency is open to provide services.
(2) “Public agency” or “agency” means any agency, board, department, commission, committee, branch, instrumentality, or authority of the State or any agency, board, committee, department, branch, instrumentality, commission, or authority of any political subdivision of the State.
(b) As used in this subchapter, “public record” or “public document” means any written or recorded information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which is produced or acquired in the course of public agency business. Individual salaries and benefits of and salary schedules relating to elected or appointed officials and employees of public agencies shall not be exempt from public inspection and copying.
(c) The following public records are exempt from public inspection and copying:
(1) Records that by law are designated confidential or by a similar term.
(2) Records that by law may only be disclosed to specifically designated persons.
(3) Records that, if made public pursuant to this subchapter, would cause the custodian to violate duly adopted standards of ethics or conduct for any profession regulated by the State.
(4) Records that, if made public pursuant to this subchapter, would cause the custodian to violate any statutory or common law privilege other than the common law deliberative process privilege as it applies to the General Assembly and the Executive Branch agencies of the State of Vermont.
(5)(A) Records dealing with the detection and investigation of crime, but only to the extent that the production of such records:
(i) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings;
(ii) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication;
(iii) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
(iv) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a state, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution that furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or information compiled by criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a confidential source;
(v) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecution if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law;
(vi) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.
(B) Notwithstanding subdivision (A) of this subdivision (5), records relating to management and direction of a law enforcement agency; records reflecting the initial arrest of a person, including any ticket, citation, or complaint issued for a traffic violation, as that term is defined in 23 V.S.A. § 2302; and records reflecting the charge of a person shall be public.
(C) It is the intent of the General Assembly that in construing subdivision (A) of this subdivision (5), the courts of this State will be guided by the construction of similar terms contained in 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7) (Freedom of Information Act) by the courts of the United States.
(D) It is the intent of the General Assembly that, consistent with the manner in which courts have interpreted subdivision (A) of this subdivision (5), a public agency shall not reveal information that could be used to facilitate the commission of a crime or the identity of a private individual who is a witness to or victim of a crime, unless withholding the identity or information would conceal government wrongdoing. A record shall not be withheld in its entirety because it contains identities or information that have been redacted pursuant to this subdivision (D).
(6) A tax return and related documents, correspondence, and certain types of substantiating forms that include the same type of information as in the tax return itself filed with or maintained by the Vermont Department of Taxes or submitted by a person to any public agency in connection with agency business.
(7) Personal documents relating to an individual, including information in any files maintained to hire, evaluate, promote, or discipline any employee of a public agency; information in any files relating to personal finances; medical or psychological facts concerning any individual or corporation; provided, however, that all information in personnel files of an individual employee of any public agency shall be made available to that individual employee or his or her designated representative.
(8) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination instruments or data used to administer a license, employment, or academic examination.
(9) Trade secrets, meaning confidential business records or information, including any formulae, plan, pattern, process, tool, mechanism, compound, procedure, production data, or compilation of information that is not patented, which a commercial concern makes efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to keep secret, and that gives its user or owner an opportunity to obtain business advantage over competitors who do not know it or use it, except that the disclosures required by 18 V.S.A. § 4632 are not exempt under this subdivision.
(10) Lists of names compiled or obtained by a public agency when disclosure would violate a person’s right to privacy or produce public or private gain; provided, however, that this section does not apply to lists that are by law made available to the public, or to lists of professional or occupational licensees.
(11) Student records, including records of a home study student; provided, however, that such records shall be made available upon request under the provisions of the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, as may be amended.
(12) Records concerning formulation of policy where such would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy if disclosed.
(13) Information pertaining to the location of real or personal property for public agency purposes prior to public announcement of the project and information pertaining to appraisals or purchase price of real or personal property for public purposes prior to the formal award of contracts thereof.
(14) Records that are relevant to litigation to which the public agency is a party of record, provided all such matters shall be available to the public after ruled discoverable by the court before which the litigation is pending, but in any event upon final termination of the litigation.
(15) Records relating specifically to negotiation of contracts, including collective bargaining agreements with public employees.
(16) Any voluntary information provided by an individual, corporation, organization, partnership, association, trustee, estate, or any other entity in the State of Vermont, which has been gathered prior to the enactment of this subchapter, shall not be considered a public document.
(17) Records of interdepartmental and intradepartmental communications in any county, city, town, village, town school district, incorporated school district, union school district, consolidated water district, fire district, or any other political subdivision of the State to the extent that they cover other than primarily factual materials and are preliminary to any determination of policy or action or precede the presentation of the budget at a meeting held in accordance with section 312 of this title.
(18) Records of the Office of Internal Investigation of the Department of Public Safety, except as provided in 20 V.S.A. § 1923.
(19) Records relating to the identity of library patrons or the identity of library patrons in regard to library patron registration records and patron transaction records in accordance with 22 V.S.A. chapter 4.
(20) Information that would reveal the location of archaeological sites and underwater historic properties, except as provided in 22 V.S.A. § 761.
(21) [Repealed.]
(22) [Repealed.]
(23) Any data, records, or information produced or acquired by or on behalf of faculty, staff, employees, or students of the University of Vermont or the Vermont State Colleges in the conduct of study, research, or creative efforts on medical, scientific, technical, scholarly, or artistic matters, whether such activities are sponsored alone by the institution or in conjunction with a governmental body or private entity, until such data, records, or information are published, disclosed in an issued patent, or publicly released by the institution or its authorized agents. This subdivision applies to, but is not limited to, research notes and laboratory notebooks, lecture notes, manuscripts, creative works, correspondence, research proposals and agreements, methodologies, protocols, and the identities of or any personally identifiable information about participants in research. This subdivision shall not exempt records, other than research protocols, produced or acquired by an institutional animal care and use committee regarding the committee’s compliance with State law or federal law regarding or regulating animal care.
(24) Records of, or internal materials prepared for, the deliberations of any public agency acting in a judicial or quasi-judicial capacity.
(25) Passwords, access codes, user identifications, security procedures, and similar information, the disclosure of which would threaten the safety of persons or the security of public property.
(26) Information and records provided to the Department of Financial Regulation by a person for the purposes of having the Department assist that person in resolving a dispute with any person regulated by the Department, and any information or records provided by a person in connection with the dispute.
(27) Information and records provided to the Department of Public Service or the Public Utility Commission by an individual for the purposes of having the Department or Commission assist that individual in resolving a dispute with a utility regulated by the Department or Commission, or by the utility or any other person in connection with the individual’s dispute.
(28) Records of, and internal materials prepared for, independent external reviews of health care service decisions pursuant to 8 V.S.A. § 4063 and of mental health care service decisions pursuant to 8 V.S.A. § 4064.
(29) The records in the custody of the Secretary of State of a participant in the Address Confidentiality Program described in 15 V.S.A. chapter 21, subchapter 3, except as provided in that subchapter.
(30) All State-controlled database structures and application code, including the vermontvacation.com website and Travel Planner application, which are known only to certain State departments engaging in marketing activities and that give the State an opportunity to obtain a marketing advantage over any other state, regional, or local governmental or nonprofit quasi-governmental entity, or private sector entity, unless any such State department engaging in marketing activities determines that the license or other voluntary disclosure of such materials is in the State’s best interests.
(31) Records of a registered voter’s month and day of birth, driver’s license or nondriver identification number, telephone number, email address, and the last four digits of his or her Social Security number contained in a voter registration application or the statewide voter checklist established under 17 V.S.A. § 2154 or the failure to register to vote under 17 V.S.A. § 2145a.
(32) With respect to publicly owned, managed, or leased structures, and only to the extent that release of information contained in the record would present a substantial likelihood of jeopardizing the safety of persons or the security of public property, final building plans, and as-built plans, including drafts of security systems within a facility, that depict the internal layout and structural elements of buildings, facilities, infrastructures, systems, or other structures owned, operated, or leased by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of this provision; emergency evacuation, escape, or other emergency response plans that have not been published for public use; and vulnerability assessments, operation, and security manuals, plans, and security codes. For purposes of this subdivision, “system” shall include electrical, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, telecommunication, elevator, and security systems. Information made exempt by this subdivision may be disclosed to another governmental entity if disclosure is necessary for the receiving entity to perform its duties and responsibilities; to a licensed architect, engineer, or contractor who is bidding on or performing work on or related to buildings, facilities, infrastructures, systems, or other structures owned, operated, or leased by the State. The entities or persons receiving such information shall maintain the exempt status of the information. Such information may also be disclosed by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, which may impose protective conditions on the release of such information as it deems appropriate. Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude or limit the right of the General Assembly or its committees to examine such information in carrying out its responsibilities or to subpoena such information. In exercising the exemption set forth in this subdivision and denying access to information requested, the custodian of the information shall articulate the grounds for the denial.
(33) The account numbers for bank, debit, charge, and credit cards held by an agency or its employees on behalf of the agency.
(34) Affidavits of income and assets as provided in 15 V.S.A. § 662 and Rule 4 of the Vermont Rules for Family Proceedings.
(35) [Repealed.]
(36) Anti-fraud plans and summaries submitted for the purposes of complying with 8 V.S.A. § 4750.
(37) Records provided to the Department of Health pursuant to the Patient Safety Surveillance and Improvement System established by 18 V.S.A. chapter 43a.
(38) Records that include prescription information containing data that could be used to identify a prescriber, except that the records shall be made available upon request for medical research, consistent with and for purposes expressed in 18 V.S.A. § 4622 or 9410, 18 V.S.A. chapter 84 or 84A, and for other law enforcement activities.
(39) Records held by the Agency of Human Services or the Department of Financial Regulation, which include prescription information containing patient-identifiable data, that could be used to identify a patient.
(40) Records of genealogy provided in an application or in support of an application for tribal recognition pursuant to chapter 23 of this title.
(41) Documents reviewed by the Victims Compensation Board for purposes of approving an application for compensation pursuant to 13 V.S.A. chapter 167, except as provided by 13 V.S.A. §§ 5358a(b) and 7043(c).
(42) Except as otherwise provided by law, information that could be used to identify a complainant who alleges that a public agency, a public employee or official, or a person providing goods or services to a public agency under contract has engaged in a violation of law, or in waste, fraud, or abuse of authority, or in an act creating a threat to health or safety, unless the complainant consents to disclosure of his or her identity.
(43) Records relating to a regulated utility’s cybersecurity program, assessments, and plans, including all reports, summaries, compilations, analyses, notes, or other cybersecurity information.
(44) Records held by the Office of Professional Regulation, Board of Medical Practice, or another public agency that issues one or more licenses, certificates, or registrations to engage in a State-regulated profession or occupation if the records contain the telephone number, email address, physical address, or mailing address, or a combination of these, of an individual who has applied for or has been granted a license, certificate, or registration to practice a profession or occupation in this State, except that the public agency shall disclose any address that the individual has designated as a public address in the record.
(d)(1) On or before December 1, 2015, the Office of Legislative Counsel shall compile lists of all Public Records Act exemptions found in the Vermont Statutes Annotated, one of which shall be arranged by subject area, and the other in order by title and section number.
(2) On or before December 1, 2019, the Office of Legislative Counsel shall compile a list arranged in order by title and section number of all Public Records Act exemptions found in the Vermont Statutes Annotated that are repealed or are narrowed in scope on or after January 1, 2019. The list shall indicate:
(A) the effective date of the repeal or narrowing in scope of the exemption; and
(B) whether or not records produced or acquired during the period of applicability of the repealed or narrowed exemption are to remain exempt following the repeal or narrowing in scope.
(3) The Office of Legislative Counsel shall update the lists required under subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection no less often than every two years. In compiling and updating these lists, the Office of Legislative Counsel shall consult with the Office of Attorney General. The lists and any updates thereto shall be posted in a prominent location on the websites of the General Assembly, the Secretary of State’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, and the State Library and shall be sent to the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.
(e)(1) For any exemption to the Public Records Act enacted or substantively amended in legislation introduced in the General Assembly in 2019 or later, in the fifth year after the effective date of the enactment, reenactment, or substantive amendment of the exemption, the exemption shall be repealed on July 1 of that fifth year except if the General Assembly reenacts the exemption prior to July 1 of the fifth year or if the law otherwise requires.
(2) Legislation that enacts, reenacts, or substantively amends an exemption to the Public Records Act shall explicitly provide for its repeal on July 1 of the fifth year after the effective date of the exemption unless the legislation specifically provides otherwise.
(f) Unless otherwise provided by law, a record produced or acquired during the period of applicability of an exemption that is subsequently repealed or narrowed in scope shall, if exempt during that period, remain exempt following the repeal or narrowing in scope of the exemption.
(Added 1975, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1977, No. 202 (Adj. Sess.); 1979, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 1981, No. 227 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 1989, No. 28, § 2; 1989, No. 136 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1995, No. 46, §§ 23, 58; 1995, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1995, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 29; 1995, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), § 38; 1995, No. 182 (Adj. Sess.), § 21, eff. May 22, 1996; 1995, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 1(a); 1997, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. April 29, 1998; 1999, No. 134 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2001; 2001, No. 28, § 9, eff. May 21, 2001; 2001, No. 76 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Feb. 19, 2002; 2001, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Apr. 3, 2002; 2003, No. 59, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; 2003, No. 63, § 29, eff. June 11, 2003; 2003, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 14; 2003, No. 146 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; 2003, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2003, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 12; 2005, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2005, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2005, No. 215 (Adj. Sess.), § 326; 2007, No. 80, § 18; 2007, No. 110 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2007, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2009, No. 59, § 5; 2009, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. May 14, 2010; 2011, No. 59, § 3; 2011, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 2, 2012; 2011, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. May 15, 2012; 2013, No. 70, § 1; 2013, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2013, No. 194 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. June 17, 2014; 2015, No. 23, § 2; 2015, No. 29, §§ 2, 3, 6, 23; 2015, No. 30, § 3, eff. May 26, 2015; 2015, No. 80 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. July 1, 2017; 2017, No. 50, § 5; 2017, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 16, 2018; 2017, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2019; 2019, No. 31, § 16; 2021, No. 54, § 2; 2023, No. 3, § 59, eff. March 20, 2023; 2025, No. 11, § 3, eff. September 1, 2025; 2025, No. 20, § 2, eff. May 13, 2025.)
(a)(1) Public records in general and archival records in particular should be systematically managed to provide ready access to vital information, to promote the efficient and economical operation of government, and to preserve their legal, administrative, and informational value.
(2) Any public agency may seek services from the Statewide Records and Information Management Program, as defined in 3 V.S.A. § 117(b) and administered by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, to establish, maintain, and implement an active and continuing internal records and information management program for the agency.
(b) A custodian of public records shall not destroy, give away, sell, discard, or damage any record or records in his or her charge, unless specifically authorized by law or under a record schedule, as defined in 3 V.S.A. § 117(a)(6), that has been approved by the State Archivist.
(Added 2007, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2017, No. 100 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)
(a)(1) As used in this section, “promptly” means immediately, with little or no delay, and, unless otherwise provided in this section, not more than three business days:
(A) from receipt of a request under this subchapter; or
(B) in the case of a reversal on appeal by a head of the agency pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, from the date of the determination on appeal.
(2) A custodian or head of the agency who fails to comply with the applicable time limit provisions of this section shall be deemed to have denied the request or the appeal upon the expiration of the time limit.
(b) Upon request, the custodian of a public record shall promptly produce the record for inspection or a copy of the record, except that:
(1) If the record is in active use or in storage and therefore not available for use at the time the person asks to examine it, the custodian shall promptly certify this fact in writing to the applicant and, in the certification, set a date and hour within one calendar week of the request when the record will be available.
(2) If the custodian considers the record to be exempt from inspection and copying under the provisions of this subchapter, the custodian shall promptly so certify in writing. The certification shall:
(A) identify the records withheld;
(B) include the asserted statutory basis for denial and a brief statement of the reasons and supporting facts for denial;
(C) provide the names and titles or positions of each person responsible for denial of the request; and
(D) notify the person of his or her right to appeal to the head of the agency any adverse determination.
(3) [Repealed.]
(4) If a record does not exist, the custodian shall promptly certify in writing that the record does not exist under the name given to the custodian by the applicant or by any other name known to the custodian.
(5) In unusual circumstances as herein specified, the time limits prescribed in this section may be extended by written notice to the person making the request setting forth the reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. No such notice shall specify a date that would result in an extension for more than ten business days from receipt of the request or, in the case of a reversal on appeal by a head of the agency pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, from the date of the determination on appeal. As used in this subdivision, “unusual circumstances” means to the extent reasonably necessary to the proper processing of the particular request:
(A) the need to search for and collect the requested records from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the office processing the request;
(B) the need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that are demanded in a single request; or
(C) the need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another agency having a substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or more components of the agency having substantial subject matter interest therein, or with the Attorney General.
(c)(1) Any denial of access by the custodian of a public record may be appealed to the head of the agency. The head of the agency shall make a written determination on an appeal within five business days after the receipt of the appeal.
(2) If the head of the agency upholds the denial of a request for records, in whole or in part, the written determination shall include:
(A) the asserted statutory basis for upholding the denial;
(B) a brief statement of the reasons and supporting facts for upholding the denial; and
(C) notification of the provisions for judicial review of the determination under section 319 of this title.
(3) If the head of the agency reverses the denial of a request for records, the records shall be promptly made available to the person making the request.
(d) In responding to a request to inspect or copy a record under this subchapter, a public agency shall consult with the person making the request in order to clarify the request or to obtain additional information that will assist the public agency in responding to the request and, when authorized by this subchapter, in facilitating production of the requested record for inspection or copying. In unusual circumstances, as that term is defined in subdivision (b)(5) of this section, a public agency may request that a person seeking a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records narrow the scope of a public records request.
(e) A public agency shall not withhold any record in its entirety on the basis that it contains some exempt content if the record is otherwise subject to disclosure; instead, the public agency shall redact the information it considers to be exempt and produce the record accompanied by an explanation of the basis for denial of the redacted information.
(f) If a person making the request has a disability that requires accommodation to gain equal access to the public record sought, the person shall notify the public agency of the type of accommodation requested. The public agency shall give primary consideration to the accommodation choice expressed by the requestor, but may propose an alternative accommodation so long as it achieves equal access. The public agency shall provide accommodation to the person making the request unless the agency can demonstrate that accommodation would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of its service, programs, activities, or in undue financial and administrative burden.
(g) The Secretary of State shall provide municipal public agencies and members of the public information and advice regarding the requirements of the Public Records Act and may utilize informational websites, toll-free telephone numbers, or other methods to provide such information and advice.
(h) The head of a State agency or department shall:
(1) designate the agency’s or department’s records officer described in 3 V.S.A. § 218, or shall designate some other person, to be accountable for overseeing the processing of requests for public records received by the agency or department in accordance with this section; and
(2) post on the agency’s or department’s website the name and contact information of the person designated under subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(Added 1975, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2007, No. 110 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2011, No. 59, § 4; 2017, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 2019, No. 14, § 1, eff. April 30, 2019.)
(a) The Secretary of Administration shall maintain and update the Public Records Request System established pursuant to 2006 Acts and Resolves No. 132, Sec. 3 and 2011 Acts and Resolves No. 59, Sec. 13 with the information furnished under subsection (b) of this section and post System information on the website of the Agency of Administration.
(b) All public agencies of the Executive Branch of the State:
(1) that receive a written request to inspect or copy a record under this subchapter shall catalogue the request in the Public Records Request System established and maintained by the Secretary of Administration by furnishing the following information:
(A) the date the request was received;
(B) the agency that received the request;
(C) the person that made the request, including a contact name;
(D) the status of the request, including whether the request was fulfilled in whole, fulfilled in part, or denied;
(E) if the request was fulfilled in part or denied, the exemption or other grounds asserted as the basis for partial fulfillment or denial;
(F) the estimated hours necessary to respond to the request;
(G) the date the agency closed the request; and
(H) the elapsed time between receipt of the request and the date the agency closed the request; and
(2) shall post in a conspicuous location on their respective websites a link to the location on the Agency of Administration’s website where Public Records Request System information is maintained.
(Added 2017, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 6.)
(a) Any person aggrieved by the denial of a request for public records under this subchapter may apply to the Civil Division of the Superior Court in the county in which the complainant resides, or has his or her personal place of business, or in which the public records are situated, or in the Civil Division of the Superior Court of Washington County, to enjoin the public agency from withholding agency records and to order the production of any agency records improperly withheld from the complainant. In such a case, the court shall determine the matter de novo, and may examine the contents of such agency records in camera to determine whether such records or any part thereof shall be withheld under any of the exemptions set forth in section 317 of this title, and the burden of proof shall be on the public agency to sustain its action.
(b) Except as to cases the court considers of greater importance, proceedings before the Civil Division of the Superior Court, as authorized by this section, and appeals there from, take precedence on the docket over all cases and shall be assigned for hearing and trial or for argument at the earliest practicable date and expedited in every way.
(c) If the public agency can show the court that exceptional circumstances exist and that the agency is exercising due diligence in responding to the request, the court may retain jurisdiction and allow the agency additional time to complete its review of the records.
(d)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, the court shall assess against the public agency reasonable attorney’s fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any case under this section in which the complainant has substantially prevailed.
(2) The court may, in its discretion, assess against a public agency reasonable attorney’s fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in a case under this section in which the complainant has substantially prevailed provided that the public agency, within the time allowed for service of an answer under V.R.C.P. 12(a)(1):
(A) concedes that a contested record or contested records are public; and
(B) provides the record or records to the complainant.
(3) The court may assess against the complainant reasonable attorney’s fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any case under this section when the court finds that the complainant has violated V.R.C.P. 11.
(Added 1975, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2011, No. 59, § 5.)
(a) Whenever the court orders the production of any public agency records, improperly withheld from the complainant and assesses against the agency reasonable attorney’s fees and other litigation costs, and the court additionally issues a written finding that the circumstances surrounding the withholding raise questions whether the agency personnel acted arbitrarily or capriciously with respect to the withholding, the Department of Human Resources if applicable to that employee, shall promptly initiate a proceeding to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted against the officer or employee who was primarily responsible for the withholding. The Department, after investigation and consideration of the evidence submitted, shall submit its findings and recommendations to the administrative authority of the agency concerned and shall send copies of the findings and recommendations to the officer or employee or his or her representative. The administrative authority shall take the corrective action that the Department recommends.
(b) In the event of noncompliance with the order of the court, the Civil Division of the Superior Court may punish for contempt the responsible employee or official, and in the case of a uniformed service, the responsible member.
(c) A person who willfully destroys, gives away, sells, discards, or damages a public record without having authority to do so shall be fined at least $50.00 but not more than $1,000.00 for each offense.
(Added 1975, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2003, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 15; 2007, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2011, No. 59, § 6.)
As used in the subchapter:
(1) “Person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind” means any person who has difficulty hearing, even with amplification, to the extent that the person cannot rely on hearing for communication.
(2) “Proceeding” means any judicial proceeding, contested case under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25, or other hearing before an administrative agency not included under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25.
(3) “Qualified interpreter” means an interpreter for a person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind who meets standards of competency established by the national or Vermont Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.
(Added 1987, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 11, eff. May 20, 2006; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2023, No. 36, § 7, eff. July 1, 2023.)
(a) Any person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind who is a party or witness in any proceeding shall be entitled to be provided with a qualified interpreter or CART services for the duration of the person’s participation in the proceeding.
(b) Any person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind shall be entitled to be provided with a qualified interpreter or CART services upon five working days’ notice that the person has reasonable need to do any of the following:
(1) transact business with any State board or agency;
(2) participate in any State-sponsored activity, including public hearings, conferences, and public meetings;
(3) participate in any official State legislative activities.
(c) If a person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind is unable to use or understand sign language, the presiding officer or State board or agency or State legislative official shall, upon five working days’ notice, make available appropriate assistive listening equipment for use during the proceeding or activity.
(Added 1987, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. May 20, 2006; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2023, No. 36, § 7, eff. July 1, 2023.)
(a) The presiding officer in a proceeding shall appoint an interpreter after making a preliminary determination that the interpreter is able to:
(1) readily communicate with the person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind;
(2) accurately interpret statements or communications from the person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind; and
(3) interpret the proceedings to the person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind.
(b) The presiding officer shall make findings when appointing an interpreter not designated as a qualified interpreter.
(c) It shall be a rebuttable presumption that the requirements of this section are met if the interpreter proposed for appointment is a qualified interpreter. It shall also be a rebuttable presumption that the requirements of this section are not met if the interpreter proposed for appointment is not a qualified interpreter.
(Added 1987, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 13, eff. May 20, 2006; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2023, No. 36, § 7, eff. July 1, 2023.)
No privilege recognized by law may be deemed waived or made inapplicable by reason that a communication was made through an interpreter.
(Added 1987, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
An interpreter appointed under section 332 of this title is entitled to receive a reasonable fee for services, together with reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses, including travel and lodging expenses. In civil proceedings, the Court may order that costs of the interpreter be paid by a party, as justice may require, or it may order that the costs be paid by the State. In criminal proceedings, costs of the interpreter shall be paid by the State. An interpreter used in connection with administrative proceedings, transacting State business or State-sponsored activities shall be provided at the expense of the agency involved. An interpreter used in connection with official State legislative activities shall be provided at the expense of the legislature.
(Added 1987, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
(a) The State of Vermont shall maintain contracts to operate CART services and a statewide sign language interpreter referral service to provide services to a person who has a right to an interpreter or CART services under section 332 of this subchapter. The contract shall require that an interpreter providing services through the sign language interpreter referral service:
(1) is able to communicate readily with the person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind;
(2) is able to interpret accurately statements or communications by the person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind;
(3) is able to interpret the proceedings to the person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind;
(4) maintain confidentiality;
(5) be impartial with respect to the outcome of the proceeding;
(6) does not exert any influence over the person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind; and
(7) does not accept assignments the interpreter does not feel competent to handle.
(b) [Repealed.]
(c) [Repealed.]
(d) The State of Vermont shall maintain access to qualified interpreters in Vermont and CART services for all State agencies and courts through the statewide contracts maintained by the State pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(Added 1987, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 14, eff. May 20, 2006; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2023, No. 36, § 7, eff. July 1, 2023.)
(a) A decision, order, or judgment of a court or administrative agency may be reversed on appeal if the court or agency finds that a person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind who was a party or a witness in the proceeding was deprived of an opportunity to communicate effectively, and that the deprivation was prejudicial.
(b) Any person denied a qualified interpreter under subsection 332(b) of this title may appeal the denial through the administrative appeals process for the agency involved or, where no such administrative appeals process exists, through the Superior Court in the county in which the denial occurred or in Washington Superior Court.
(Added 1987, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 15, eff. May 20, 2006; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2023, No. 36, § 7, eff. July 1, 2023.)
(a) An admission or confession by a person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind made to a law enforcement officer or any other person having a prosecutorial function may only be used against the person in a criminal proceeding if:
(1) the admission or confession was made knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently and is not subject to alternative interpretations resulting from the person’s habits and patterns of communication; and
(2) the admission or confession, if made during a custodial interrogation, was made after reasonable steps were taken, including the appointment of a qualified interpreter, to ensure that the defendant understood the defendant’s constitutional rights.
(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section supplement the constitutional rights of the person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind.
(Added 1987, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 16, eff. May 20, 2006; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2023, No. 36, § 7, eff. July 1, 2023.)
(a) An interpreter, whether or not the interpreter is a qualified interpreter, shall not disclose or testify to:
(1) a communication made by a person to an interpreter acting in the capacity of an interpreter for a person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind or a person with limited English proficiency; or
(2) any information obtained by the interpreter while acting in the capacity of an interpreter for a person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind or a person with limited English proficiency.
(b) There is no prohibition on disclosure under this section if the services of the interpreter were sought or obtained to enable or aid anyone to commit or plan to commit what the person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind or the person with limited English proficiency knew or reasonably should have known to be a crime or fraud.
(c)(1) This section shall not be construed to limit or expand the effect of section 334 of this title.
(2) This section shall not be construed to alter or affect the mandatory reporting requirements of 33 V.S.A. § 4913.
(d) As used in this section, “person with limited English proficiency” means a person who does not speak English as the person’s primary language and who has a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English.
(Added 2003, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2005, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. May 20, 2006; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2023, No. 36, § 7, eff. July 1, 2023.)
(a) The following shall be legal holidays:
(1) New Year’s Day, January 1;
(2) Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, the third Monday in January;
(3) Presidents’ Day, the third Monday in February;
(4) Town Meeting Day, the first Tuesday in March;
(5) Memorial Day, the last Monday in May;
(6) Juneteenth, June 19;
(7) Independence Day, July 4;
(8) Bennington Battle Day, August 16;
(9) Labor Day, the first Monday in September;
(10) Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the second Monday in October;
(11) Veterans’ Day, November 11;
(12) Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November;
(13) Christmas Day, December 25.
(b) All State departments, agencies, and offices shall observe any legal holiday that falls on a Saturday on the preceding Friday and any legal holiday that falls on a Sunday on the following Monday; however, all other conditions of employment related to legal holidays, including decisions such as the closing or opening of State offices and compensation for work performed on such a day, shall be proper matters for collective bargaining pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 904.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not affect any collective bargaining agreement in existence on the effective date hereof.
(Amended 1969, No. 202 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. date, see note set out below; 1973, No. 71, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974; 1973, No. 150 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; eff. March 11, 1974; 1975, No. 133 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Feb. 6, 1976; 1985, No. 251 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2003, No. 83 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2017, No. 130 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; 2019, No. 18, § 2; 2023, No. 140 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 30, 2024.)
The first Friday in the month of May of each year is hereby designated as “Arbor Day.”
That February of each year is hereby designated as American History Month, and the Governor of the State of Vermont is requested and authorized to issue annually a proclamation inviting the people of the State of Vermont to observe such month in schools, churches, and other suitable places with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
(1961, No. R-28, app. Feb. 23, 1961.)
The third Friday in the month of September is designated as “POW-MIA Recognition Day.”
(Added 1997, No. 82 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Sept. 18, 1998.)
[Repealed]
(Added 2007, No. 201 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)
October of each year is designated as Health Care Career Awareness Month.
(Added 2009, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 31a.)
(a) The first Saturday in the month of May is designated as Green Up Day.
(b) September of each year is designated as River Cleanup Month.
(Added 2013, No. 117 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2019, No. 50, § 3.)
November of each year is designated as the Vermont Month of the Veteran.
(Added 2025, No. 5, § 2, eff. July 1, 2025.)
(a) The standard time within the State of Vermont shall be based on the mean astronomical time of 75° of longitude west from Greenwich, known and designated as “U.S. Eastern Standard Time,” except as provided in 15 U.S.C. § 260a, when standard time shall be advanced one hour. The period of time so advanced may be called “daylight saving time.”
(b) The Governor is authorized to shorten or lengthen the period specified in subsection (a) of this section by proclamation, if necessary to make the time accord with the time in effect in any of the states whose boundaries adjoin Vermont. This proclamation shall be issued at least 10 days before it takes effect.
(Amended 2017, No. 74, § 1.)
In all laws, statutes, orders, decrees, rules, and regulations relating to the time of performance of any act by any officer or department of this State, including the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches of the State government, or of any county, city, town, or district thereof, or relating to the time in which any rights shall accrue or determine, or within which any act shall or shall not be performed by any person subject to the jurisdiction of this State and in all the public schools and institutions of the State, or of any county, city, town, or district thereof, and in all contracts or choses in action made or to be performed in this State, it shall be understood and intended that the time shall be the time designated in section 431 of this title.
The Coat of Arms, Crest, Motto, and Badge of the State shall be and are described as follows:
(1) Coat of Arms. Green, a landscape occupying half of the shield; on the right and left, in the background, high mountains, blue; the sky, yellow. From near the base and reaching nearly to the top of the shield, arises a pine tree of the natural color and between three erect sheaves, yellow, placed diagonally on the right side and a red cow standing on the left side of the field.
(2) Motto and Badge. On a scroll beneath the shield, the motto: Vermont; Freedom and Unity. The Vermonter’s badge: two pine branches of natural color, crossed between the shield and scroll.
(3) Crest. A buck’s head, of natural color, placed on a scroll, blue and yellow.
The Secretary of State shall keep in the archives of his or her office a representation of the Coat of Arms according to the foregoing description.
The State Seal shall be the Great Seal of the State, a faithful reproduction, cut larger and deeper, of the original seal, designed by Ira Allen, cut by Reuben Dean of Windsor, and accepted by resolution of the General Assembly, dated February 20, 1779. The Seal shall be kept by the Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs.
The Vermont Development Board may, with the prior written consent of the Governor, reproduce the seal of the State of Vermont in any State-sponsored publication whether or not advertising is included in such publication.
(Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 18(a), eff. March 1, 1961.)
The Flag of the State shall be blue with the Coat of Arms of the State thereon.
The Secretary of State shall obtain, through the Department of Buildings and General Services, State Flags. The Secretary may, on terms that he or she finds appropriate, distribute these State Flags to other states; to State officials, departments, and agencies; and to other persons the Secretary may determine should receive them.
(Added 1961, No. 120, § 1, eff. May 16, 1961; amended 1963, No. 77, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 2, 1963; 1995, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 4(a), eff. May 6, 1996; 2017, No. 111 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)
The Secretary of State shall obtain, through the Department of Buildings and General Services, two copies of the Bennington Battle Flag, one for delivery to the Sergeant at Arms to be flown at the State House in Montpelier, under the U.S. Flag, on the 15th, 16th, and 17th days of August each year to commemorate the Battle of Bennington, and a second for delivery to the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, along with one Vermont State Flag, to be flown at the Bennington Battle Monument Area.
(Added 2017, No. 111 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)
The Secretary of State shall obtain, through the Department of Buildings and General Services, a copy of the Green Mountain Boys Flag for delivery to the Sergeant at Arms to be flown at the State House in Montpelier, under the U.S. Flag, on the 15th day of January each year to commemorate Vermont’s independence.
(Added 2017, No. 111 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
The State of Vermont shall fly on State-owned flagpoles, where practicable, the National League of Families Prisoner of War and Missing in Action flag, as designated in 36 U.S.C. § 902, provided the flag is donated.
(Added 2017, No. 111 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; amended 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)
The Department of Buildings and General Services shall adopt and update as necessary a protocol for the flying of any flag on a State-owned flagpole and on municipally owned flagpoles if statutorily directed. The protocol shall incorporate any existing flag-flying policies or protocols that the Department has previously adopted.
(Added 2017, No. 111 (Adj. Sess.), § 6.)
The Honor and Remember Flag is designated as the flag that recognizes those Vermonters who died during or as the result of serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. This designation will recognize their bravery and educate Vermonters about the sacrifices their fellow citizens have made to protect our nation. The Department of Buildings and General Services shall establish a protocol for the flying of the Honor and Remember Flag and may accept donations of the flag to be flown on State-owned flagpoles. The Honor and Remember Flag may be flown on State-owned and municipally owned flagpoles, including those at military facilities, war memorials, and veterans cemeteries on such days as the Department of Buildings and General Services shall designate in the protocol.
(Added 2017, No. 122 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 3, 2018.)
The State Bird shall be the hermit thrush.
The State Flower shall be the red clover.
The State Tree shall be the sugar maple.
The State Animal shall be the Morgan horse.
(1961, No. 42, § 1, eff. March 23, 1961.)
The State Cold Water Fish shall be the brook trout (salvelinus fontinalis) and the State Warm Water Fish shall be the walleye pike (sander vitreus).
(Added 2011, No. 82 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 13, 2012.)
The State Insect shall be the honeybee.
(Added 1977, No. 124 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Feb. 17, 1978.)
The State Beverage shall be milk.
(Added 1983, No. 22, § 1, eff. April 22, 1983.)
The State Soil shall be the Tunbridge soil series.
(Added 1985, No. 9, § 1, eff. Mar. 27, 1985.)
The State Butterfly shall be the monarch.
(Added 1987, No. 72, § 1, eff. June 8, 1987.)
The State Gem shall be the grossular garnet.
(Added 1991, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 28, 1992.)
The State Rocks shall be marble, granite, and slate.
(Added 1991, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 28, 1992.)
The State Mineral shall be talc.
(Added 1991, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 28, 1992.)
(a) The State Marine Fossil shall be the white whale fossilized skeleton at the University of Vermont’s Perkins Geology Museum.
(b) The State Terrestrial Fossil shall be the Mount Holly mammoth tooth and tusk at the Mount Holly Community Historical Museum.
(Added 1993, No. 66, § 1, eff. June 6, 1993; amended 2013, No. 116 (Adj. Sess.), § 15a.)
The State Flavor shall be maple from the Vermont sugar maple tree.
(Added 1993, No. 139 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 26, 1994.)
The State Amphibian shall be the northern leopard frog.
(Added 1997, No. 126 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 21, 1998.)
The State Pie shall be apple pie.
(Added 1999, No. 15, § 1, eff. May 10, 1999.)
The State Fruit shall be the apple.
(Added 1999, No. 15, § 3, eff. May 10, 1999.)
The State Song shall be “These Green Mountains.”
(Added 1999, No. 99 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 5, 2000.)
The Randall Lineback breed of cattle shall be an official State Heritage breed of livestock.
(Added 2005, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)
The State Winter Sports shall be skiing and snowboarding.
(Added 2011, No. 77 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. March 8, 2012.)
The State Fly-Fishing Fly shall be the Governor Aiken bucktail streamer.
(Added 2013, No. 116 (Adj. Sess.), § 14.)
The State Latin Motto shall be Stella quarta decima fulgeat (May the 14th star shine bright).
(Added 2015, No. 6, § 1.)
The State Vegetable shall be the Gilfeather turnip.
(Added 2015, No. 127 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
The State Mushroom shall be Hericium Americanum, commonly known as the bear’s head tooth mushroom.
(Added 2023, No. 101 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 7, 2024.)
When, pursuant to U.S. Const. Art. 1, § 8, cl. 17, consent to purchase is given and exclusive jurisdiction ceded to the United States in respect to and over any lands within this State that shall be acquired by the United States for the purposes described in such clause of the Constitution, such jurisdiction shall continue so long as the lands are held and occupied by the United States for public purposes; but concurrent jurisdiction is reserved for the execution upon such lands of all process, civil or criminal, issued by the courts of the State and not incompatible with the cession, and for the enforcement of State law in the federal enclave along the border of Canada and Vermont by law enforcement officers certified under 20 V.S.A. § 2358. The deed or other conveyance of such land to the United States shall contain a description of such lands by metes and bounds and shall be recorded in the town clerk’s office of the town in which such lands lie or an accurate map or plan and description by metes and bounds of such lands shall be filed in such clerk’s office.
(Amended 1999, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 29, 2000.)
Subject to the provisions of section 551 of this title, consent to purchase is hereby given and exclusive jurisdiction is ceded to the United States in respect to and over so much land as the United States has or may acquire for the purposes described in U.S. Const. Art. 1, § 8, cl. 17. However, with respect to land hereafter sought to be acquired by the United States for flood control purposes or for other needful buildings as specified in such clause of the Constitution of the United States, the consent of the State shall not be deemed to have been given unless and until such land has been acquired by the State and conveyed to the United States in the manner provided by 29 V.S.A. chapter 15 with respect to public works projects and with the written approval of the Governor and the approval of the General Assembly.
(Amended 1971, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)
For the purpose of making the surveys required of the Federal Geological Survey by acts of Congress, it shall be lawful for the persons employed in making the same to enter upon the lands within the boundaries of this State, but this section shall not be construed as authorizing any unnecessary interference with private rights.
The consent of the State of Vermont is hereby given to the acquisition by the United States, by purchase, gift, or condemnation with adequate compensation, of such lands in Vermont with the approval of a Board consisting of the Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation; and Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets in the following towns: Bristol, Lincoln, Warren, Ripton, Granville, Hancock, Rochester, Pittsfield, Chittenden, Goshen, Middlebury, Salisbury, Leicester, Brandon, Mendon, Stockbridge, Winhall, Londonderry, Peru, Dorset, Danby, Landgrove, Weston, Wallingford, Mt. Holly, Mt. Tabor, Stratton, Wardsboro, Dover, Wilmington, Whitingham, Readsboro, Searsburg, Sunderland, Manchester, Woodford, Stamford, Jamaica, Bennington, Pownal, Shaftsbury, Arlington, and Killington, and the unorganized towns of Glastenbury and Somerset, which in the opinion of the federal government and the State may be needed for the establishment, consolidation, and extension of national forests in the State. Land in the Town of Rupert and the Town of Sandgate may be considered by the Board for classification within boundaries of areas of the State in which the United States may acquire lands as National Forest lands, provided that the legislative body of the town has voted to allow such consideration after having been advised to do so by a majority of town residents voting in an advisory referendum on the question. Such Board shall act on a specific parcel only after it has the written approval of the legislative body or selectboard members of the town or supervisors of an unorganized town or gore wherein such land, or a part thereof, is located.
(Amended 1989, No. 224 (Adj. Sess.), eff. June 4, 1990; 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 72.)
The United States shall have jurisdiction to make and enforce such laws, rules, and regulations as the United States shall deem necessary for the administration, protection, and management of national forests in the State.
(Amended 2021, No. 52, § 2, eff. June 3, 2021.)
In all other respects, the jurisdiction over persons and property within the territory of national forests in the State shall not be affected nor changed by reason of the acquisition of title to such lands by the United States.
(Amended 2021, No. 52, § 3, eff. June 3, 2021.)
All sums received by this State from the United States, on account of the national forest in this State established under the provision of the Weeks Law, so-called, being an act of Congress approved May 23, 1908, and amendments thereto, and codified as 16 U.S.C. § 500, and all funds received by this State from the United States pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2665 from the sale of forest products produced on land owned or leased by a military department or the U.S. Department of Transportation shall be distributed as follows:
(1) Funds from national forests under the provisions of the Weeks Law shall first be apportioned by the State Treasurer among the several school districts in which such national forest is or may be situated, in proportion to the area of such national forest in each, as determined by the forest service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For purposes of this section, “school district” means a town, city, independent, or unified school district.
(2) Funds from the sale of forest products pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 2665 shall be apportioned by the State Treasurer among the several towns in a manner proportional to the area in each town of the military installation or facility from which the forest products were produced.
(3) The several sums so apportioned to each school district or town shall be paid over by the State Treasurer, within 60 days after receipt thereof, to the treasurer of such school district or town. Such sums shall be expended for the benefit of the public schools of such school district or for the benefit of the public roads on the part of the recipient town, in addition to the sums required by law to be raised for such purposes, in such manner as may be determined by appropriations duly made by town meetings in such town or school district.
(Added 1977, No. 253 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 1983, No. 32; 2001, No. 63, § 278, eff. June 16, 2001.)
The boundary line between the State of New Hampshire and the State of Vermont shall be perambulated and markers and bounds renewed wherever necessary once in every seven years forever by the Attorney General of this State in conjunction with the Attorney General of the State of New Hampshire or by such person as the Attorney General shall in writing appoint for that purpose.
A return of the perambulation shall be made, particularly describing the marks and monuments of such line and their location, which shall be signed by the Attorney General or the person making the same and recorded with the Secretary of State.
The Attorney General of this State shall give notice to the Attorney General of New Hampshire of the time and place of the meeting for such perambulation 30 days before the day of the meeting.
All expenses incurred by representation of this State incidental to such perambulation shall be paid by the State, including one-half of the cost of renewing markers or monuments. The Commissioner of Finance and Management is hereby authorized to draw his or her warrant therefor out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
(Amended 1959, No. 328 (Adj. Sess.), § 8(c); 1983, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 5(b).)
No person, firm, or corporation shall begin or attempt to begin any alteration or improvement of the banks or bed of the Connecticut River, the erection of any building, dam, or other structure upon the banks or bed of such river or any other operations that will affect the waters or flow of such river so as to make the ascertaining of the location of the boundary line between the State of New Hampshire and the State of Vermont difficult without first giving notice thereof to the Attorney General of this State and the Attorney General of New Hampshire.
Upon receipt of such notice, the Attorney General of this State shall communicate with the Attorney General of New Hampshire concerning the subject matter thereof, shall arrange for a joint inspection by such Attorneys General or their representatives of the premises described therein to determine the need of the erection of monuments to permanently mark the location of the boundary line in the area to be affected. If required, such Attorneys General or their representatives shall erect such markers as are necessary.
Upon determination of need for or lack of need for a marking of the boundary, the Attorney General of this State shall certify the determination made to the person, firm, or corporation giving notice, and issue a permit that the work upon such alteration, improvement, building, dam, structure, or operation affecting the waters or flow of such river may be begun upon a day certain. Such date shall be fixed as will give a reasonable time for the erection of monuments for the marking of the boundary if a need for such monuments has been determined; otherwise, so as to inconvenience the giver of the notice as little as possible.
Any person, firm, or corporation who shall have failed to give the notice described in section 615 of this title or who, without having received from the Attorney General of this State the certificate and permit described in section 617, shall begin or attempt to begin any alteration or improvement of the banks or bed of the Connecticut River, the erection of any building, dam, or other structure upon the banks or bed of such river, or any other operation that will affect the waters or flow of such river shall be fined not more than $5,000.00.
The most recent system of plane coordinates, known as the State Plane Coordinate System, that has been established by the National Geodetic Survey or its successors for defining and stating the horizontal positions or locations of points on the surface of the earth within the State of Vermont shall be known as the Vermont State Plane Coordinate System. The terms “Vermont Coordinate System” and “Vermont Plane Coordinate System” are synonymous with the term “Vermont State Plane Coordinate System.” Previous versions of this system include “Vermont Coordinate System 1927” and “Vermont Coordinate System 1983.”
(Amended 1987, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 3, 1988; 2007, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 38; 2023, No. 86 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 4, 2024.)
(a) The plane coordinates of a point on the earth’s surface, to be used for expressing the geographic position or location of the point in the appropriate zone of the Vermont State Plane Coordinate Systems, shall consist of two distances expressed in:
(1) meters and decimals of a meter, or international feet and decimals of a foot, when using the Vermont State Plane Coordinate System or its successors;
(2) U.S. Survey feet and decimals of a foot when using the Vermont Coordinate System 1927; or
(3) meters and decimals of a meter, or U.S. Survey feet and decimals of a foot, when using the Vermont Coordinate System 1983.
(b) One of the distances described in subsection (a) of this section, to be known as the “east or x-coordinate,” shall give the distance east of the y-axis; the other distance, to be known as the “north or y-coordinate,” shall give the distance north of the x-axis. The y-axis of any zone shall be parallel with the central meridian of that zone. The x axis of any zone shall be at right angles to the central meridian of that zone.
(c) One international foot equals 0.3048 meter exactly. For conversion of meters to international feet, multiply the meters by 3.280839895.
(d) The international foot shall be used for all foot distances and coordinates unless the distances or coordinates are tied to one of the legacy systems referenced in this section.
(e) The U.S. survey foot, which equals (1200)/(3937) meter, shall be superseded by the international foot specified in subsection (b) of this section, following guidance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Geodetic Survey, the National Ocean Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(Amended 1987, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 3, 1988; 2007, No. 164 (Adj. Sess.), § 39; 2023, No. 86 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 4, 2024.)
(a) The Vermont State Plane Coordinate System is the most recent system of plane coordinates established by the National Geodetic Survey, based on the National Spatial Reference System, and known as the State Plane Coordinate System, for defining and stating the geographic positions or locations of points within the State of Vermont and shall be known as the Vermont State Plane Coordinate System.
(b) For purposes of more precisely defining the Vermont Coordinate System 1927, the following definition by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (now the National Ocean Service/National Geodetic Survey) is adopted:
(c) The Vermont Coordinate System 1927 is a transverse Mercator projection of the Clarke spheroid of 1866, having a central meridian 72 degrees 30 minutes west of Greenwich, on which meridian the scale is set one part in 28,000 too small. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 72 degrees 30 minutes west of Greenwich and the parallel 42 degrees 30 minutes north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x = 500,000 feet and y = 0 feet.
(d) For purposes of defining the Vermont Coordinate System 1983, the following definition by the National Ocean Service/National Geodetic Survey is adopted. The Vermont Coordinate System 1983 is a transverse Mercator projection of the GRS 80 ellipsoid, having a central meridian 72 degrees 30 minutes west of Greenwich, on which meridian the scale is set one part in 28,000 too small. The origin of coordinates is at the intersection of the meridian 72 degrees 30 minutes west of Greenwich and the parallel 42 degrees 30 minutes north latitude. This origin is given the coordinates: x = 500,000 meters and y = 0 meters.
(e) The position of the Vermont Coordinate System 1983 shall be marked on the ground by existing or future survey stations established in conformity with standards adopted by the National Geodetic Survey or its successors for first-order or second-order work, or both, whose geodetic positions have been rigidly adjusted to the North American Datum 1983 (NAD 1983).
(Amended 1987, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 3, 1988; 1993, No. 6, § 1; 2023, No. 86 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 4, 2024.)
Coordinates based on any Vermont Coordinate System, purporting to define the position of a point on a land boundary, presented to be recorded in any public land records or deed records shall be accompanied by a specific statement as to their basis and a description of the survey method used to determine them on the record plat or description of the survey.
(Amended 1987, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. May 3, 1988; 1993, No. 6, § 2; 2023, No. 86 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 4, 2024.)
The use of the terms “Vermont State Plane Coordinate System,” “Vermont Coordinate System 1927,” or “Vermont Coordinate System 1983” on any map, report of survey, or other document shall be limited to coordinates based on the respective Vermont Coordinate System as defined in this chapter.
(Amended 1987, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. May 3, 1988; 2023, No. 86 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 4, 2024.)
For the purposes of describing the location of any survey station or land boundary corner in the State of Vermont, it shall be considered a complete, legal, and satisfactory description of such location to give the position of such survey station or land boundary corner on the system of plane coordinates as defined in this chapter.
(Amended 1987, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. May 3, 1988.)
Nothing contained in this chapter shall require any purchaser or mortgagee of real property to rely solely on a description, any part of which depends entirely upon the Vermont Coordinate Systems.
(Amended 1987, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. May 3, 1988.)
If any provision of this chapter shall be declared invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other portion of this chapter that can be given effect without the invalid provision; and to this end, the provisions of this chapter are declared severable.
(Added 1987, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. May 3, 1988.)
The Vermont Coordinate System 1927 shall not be used for projects commenced after January 1, 2000, and the Vermont Coordinate System 1983 shall not be used for projects commenced after release of the State Plane Coordinate System 2022 by the National Geodetic Survey.
(Added 1987, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. May 3, 1988; amended 2023, No. 86 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 4, 2024.)
The Governor shall appoint one or more competent persons, one of whom, on application of the selectboard members, shall set out and establish a true meridian line, not less than 100 feet in length, at some convenient place in a town or city, to be selected, provided, and kept by such selectboard members for the free use of all persons.
Under the direction of the person so appointed, the selectboard members shall erect suitable stone or iron posts at the extremities of such meridian line, setting the same firmly in the ground, the north post to be marked with the letter M, and the south post with the initial letter or letters of such town or city. The person so appointed shall make a written description of the same, so that it can be readily known, and cause the same to be recorded in the office of the town or city clerk. Such person shall receive for his or her services from the treasurer of such town or city $8.00 a day and his or her necessary expenses.
[Repealed]
2009, No. 135 (Adj. Sess.), § 26(1).
The State of Vermont recognizes that intergovernmental cooperation is an essential factor in resolving problems affecting this State and that the interchange of personnel between governmental agencies at the same or different levels of government is a significant factor in achieving that cooperation.
(Added 1967, No. 384 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 27, 1968.)
For the purposes of this subchapter, the following words and phrases have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
(1) “Sending agency” means any department or agency of the federal government or a state government that sends any employee thereof to another government agency under this subchapter.
(2) “Receiving agency” means any department or agency of the federal government or a state government that receives an employee of another government under this subchapter.
(Added 1967, No. 384 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. March 27, 1968.)
(a) Any department, agency, or instrumentality of the State may participate in a program of interchange of employees with departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the federal government, or another state, as a sending or receiving agency.
(b) The period of individual assignment or detail under an interchange program shall be subject to approval of the Commissioner of Human Resources for Executive departments, the Court Administrator for the Judiciary, and the Joint Rules Committee for the Legislature. Details relating to any matter covered in this subchapter may be the subject of an agreement between the sending and receiving agencies. Elected officials shall not be assigned from a sending agency nor detailed to a receiving agency.
(Added 1967, No. 384 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 27, 1968; amended 1997, No. 66 (Adj. Sess.), § 62, eff. Feb. 20, 1998; 2003, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 15.)
(a) Employees of a sending agency participating in an exchange of personnel as authorized in section 823 of this title may be considered during that participation to be on detail to regular work assignment of the sending agency.
(b) Employees who are on detail are entitled to the same salary and benefits to which they would otherwise be entitled and shall remain employees of the sending agency for all other purposes except that the supervision of their duties during the period of detail may be governed by agreement between the sending agency and the receiving agency.
(c) Any employee who participates in an exchange under the terms of this section who has a disability or dies as a result of personal injury arising out of and in the course of an exchange, or sustained in performance of duties in connection therewith, shall be treated, for the purposes of the sending agency’s employee compensation program, as an employee, as defined in the law creating that program, who has sustained the injury in the performance of his or her duty, but shall not receive benefits under that law for any period for which he or she is entitled to and elects to receive similar benefits under the receiving agency’s employee compensation program.
(Added 1967, No. 384 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. March 27, 1968; amended 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
A sending agency in this State may, in accordance with the travel regulations of the agency, pay the travel expenses of employees assigned to a receiving agency on either a detail or leave basis but shall not pay the travel expenses of those employees incurred in connection with their work assignments at the receiving agency. During the period of assignment, the sending agency may pay a daily allowance to the employee on assignment or detail.
(Added 1967, No. 384 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. March 27, 1968.)
(a) When any unit of government of this State acts as a receiving agency, employees of the sending agency who are assigned under this subchapter may be considered to be on detail to the receiving agency.
(b) Appointments of persons so assigned may be made without regard to the laws or regulations governing the selection of employees of the receiving agency. Such a person shall be in the unclassified service of the State.
(c) Employees who are detailed to the receiving agency shall not by virtue of that detail be considered to be employees thereof, except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, nor shall they be paid a salary or wage by the receiving agency during the period of their detail. The supervision of the duties of those employees during the period of detail may be governed by agreement between the sending agency and the receiving agency.
(d) Any employee of a sending agency assigned in this State who has a disability or dies as a result of personal injury arising out of and in the course of that assignment, or sustained in the performance of duties in connection therewith, shall be treated for the purpose of the receiving agency’s employee compensation program, as an employee, as defined in its law, who has sustained the injury in the performance of that duty but shall not receive benefits under that law for any period for which he or she elects to receive similar benefits as an employee under the sending agency’s employee compensation program.
(Added 1967, No. 384 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. March 27, 1968; amended 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
A receiving agency in this State may, in accordance with the travel regulations of the agency, pay travel expenses of persons assigned thereto under this subchapter during the period of those assignments on the same basis as if they were regular employees of the receiving agency.
(Added 1967, No. 384 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. March 27, 1968.)
The General Assembly finds that:
(1) At least 1,700 Vermonters claim to be direct descendants of the several indigenous Native American peoples, now known as Western Abenaki tribes, who originally inhabited all of Vermont and New Hampshire, parts of western Maine, parts of southern Quebec, and parts of upstate New York for hundreds of years, beginning long before the arrival of Europeans.
(2) There is ample archaeological evidence that demonstrates that the Missisquoi and Cowasuck Abenaki were indigenous to and farmed the river floodplains of Vermont at least as far back as the 1100s A.D.
(3) The Western Abenaki, including the Missisquoi, have a very definite and carefully maintained oral tradition that consistently references the Champlain Valley in western Vermont.
(4) State recognition confers official acknowledgment of the long-standing existence in Vermont of Native American Indians who predated European settlement and enhances dignity and pride in their heritage and community.
(5) Many contemporary Abenaki families continue to produce traditional crafts and intend to continue to pass on these indigenous traditions to the younger generations. In order to create and sell Abenaki crafts that may be labeled as Indian- or Native American-produced, the Abenaki must be recognized by the State of Vermont.
(6) According to a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), State recognition of Indian tribes plays a very small role with regard to federal recognition. The only exception is when a state recognized a tribe before 1900.
(7) At least 15 other states have recognized their resident indigenous people as Native American Indian tribes without any of those tribes previously or subsequently acquiring federal recognition.
(8) State-recognized Native American Indian tribes and their members will continue to be subject to all laws of the State, and recognition shall not be construed to create any basis or authority for tribes to establish or promote any form of prohibited gambling activity or to claim any interest in land or real estate in Vermont.
(Added 2005, No. 125 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 3, 2006; amended 2009, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 14, 2010.)
(a) In order to recognize the historic and cultural contributions of Native Americans to Vermont, to protect and strengthen their heritage, and to address their needs in State policy, programs, and actions, there is hereby established the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs (the “Commission”).
(b) The Commission shall be composed of nine members appointed by the Governor for staggered two-year terms from a list of candidates compiled by the Division for Historic Preservation. The Governor shall appoint members who have been residents of Vermont for a minimum of three years and reflect a diversity of affiliations and geographic locations in Vermont. A member may serve for no more than two consecutive terms, unless there are insufficient eligible candidates. The Division shall compile a list of candidates from the following:
(1) Recommendations from Native American communities residing in Vermont. Once a Native American Indian tribe has been recognized under this chapter, a qualified candidate recommended by that tribe shall have priority for appointment to fill the next available vacancy on the Commission.
(2) Individuals who apply to the Division for Historical Preservation. Candidates shall indicate their residence and Native American affiliation.
(c) The Commission shall:
(1) elect a chair each year;
(2) provide technical assistance and an explanation of the process to applicants for State recognition;
(3) compile and maintain a list of professionals and scholars for appointment to a review panel;
(4) appoint a three-member panel acceptable to both the applicant and the Commission to review supporting documentation of an application for recognition and advise the Commission of its accuracy and relevance;
(5) review each application, supporting documentation and findings of the review panel, and make recommendations for or against State recognition to the legislative committees;
(6) assist Native American Indian tribes recognized by the State to:
(A) secure assistance for social services, education, employment opportunities, health care, and housing;
(B) develop and market Vermont Native American fine and performing arts, craft work, and cultural events; and
(7) develop policies and programs to benefit Vermont’s Native American Indian population within the scope of the Commission’s authority.
(d) During fiscal year 2011, the Commission shall meet at least three times a year and at any other times at the request of the Chair and Commission, members shall receive a per diem pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 1010. In fiscal year 2012 and thereafter, the Commission shall meet as needed but members shall receive a per diem pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 1010 no more than six times a year. The Division for Historic Preservation within the Agency of Commerce and Community Development shall provide administrative support to the Commission, including providing communication and contact resources.
(e) The Commission may seek and receive funding from federal and other sources to assist with its work.
(Added 2005, No. 125 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 3, 2006; amended 2009, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 14, 2010; 2011, No. 3, § 99.)
(a) For the purposes of this section:
(1) “Applicant” means a group or band seeking formal State recognition as a Native American Indian tribe.
(2) “Legislative committees” means the House Committee on General and Housing and the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs.
(3) “Recognized” or “recognition” means acknowledged as a Native American Indian tribe by the Vermont General Assembly.
(4) “Tribe” means an assembly of Native American Indian people who are related to each other by kinship and who trace their ancestry to a kinship group that has historically maintained an organizational structure that exerts influence and authority over its members.
(b) The State recognizes all individuals of Native American Indian heritage who reside in Vermont as an ethnic minority. This designation does not confer any status to any collective group of individuals.
(c) In order to be eligible for recognition, an applicant must file an application with the Commission and demonstrate compliance with subdivisions (1) through (8) of this subsection, which may be supplemented by subdivision (9) of this subsection:
(1) A majority of the applicant’s members currently reside in a specific geographic location within Vermont.
(2) A substantial number of the applicant’s members are related to each other by kinship and trace their ancestry to a kinship group through genealogy or other methods. Genealogical documents shall be limited to those that show a descendency from identified Vermont or regional native people.
(3) The applicant has a connection with Native American Indian tribes and bands that have historically inhabited Vermont.
(4) The applicant has historically maintained an organizational structure that exerts influence and authority over its members that is supported by documentation of the structure, membership criteria, the names and residential addresses of its members, and the methods by which the applicant conducts its affairs.
(5) The applicant has an enduring community presence within the boundaries of Vermont that is documented by archaeology, ethnography, physical anthropology, history, folklore, or any other applicable scholarly research and data.
(6) The applicant is organized in part:
(A) to preserve, document, and promote its Native American Indian culture and history, and this purpose is reflected in its bylaws;
(B) to address the social, economic, political, or cultural needs of the members with ongoing educational programs and activities.
(7) The applicant can document traditions, customs, oral stories, and histories that signify the applicant’s Native American heritage and connection to their historical homeland.
(8) The applicant has not been recognized as a tribe in any other state, province, or nation.
(9) Submission of letters, statements, and documents from:
(A) municipal, State, or federal authorities that document the applicant’s history of tribe-related business and activities;
(B) tribes in and outside Vermont that attest to the Native American Indian heritage of the applicant.
(d) The Commission shall consider the application pursuant to the following process, which shall include at least the following requirements:
(1) The Commission shall:
(A) provide public notice of receipt of the application and supporting documentation;
(B) hold at least one public hearing on the application; and
(C) provide written notice of completion of each step of the recognition process to the applicant.
(2) Established appropriate time frames that include a requirement that the Commission and the review panel shall complete a review of the application and issue a determination regarding recognition within one year after an application and all the supporting documentation have been filed, and if a recommendation is not issued, the Commission shall provide written explanation to the applicant and the legislative committees of the reasons for the delay and the expected date that a decision will be issued.
(3) A process for appointing a three-member review panel for each application to review the supporting documentation and determine its sufficiency, accuracy, and relevance. The review panel shall provide a detailed written report of its findings and conclusions to the Commission, the applicant, and legislative committees. Members of each review panel shall be appointed cooperatively by the Commission and the applicant from a list of professionals and academic scholars with expertise in cultural or physical anthropology, Indian law, archaeology, Native American Indian genealogy, history, or another related Native American Indian subject area. If the applicant and the Commission are unable to agree on a panel, the State Historic Preservation Officer shall appoint the panel. No member of the review panel may be a member of the Commission or affiliated with or on the tribal rolls of the applicant.
(4) The Commission shall review the application, the supporting documentation, the report from the review panel, and any other relevant information to determine compliance with subsection (b) of this section and make a determination to recommend or deny recognition. The decision to recommend recognition shall require a majority vote of all eligible members of the Commission. A member of the Commission who is on the tribal roll of the applicant is ineligible to participate in any action regarding the application. If the Commission denies recognition, the Commission shall provide the applicant and the legislative committees with written notice of the reasons for the denial, including specifics of all insufficiencies of the application.
(5) The applicant may file additional supporting documentation for reconsideration within one year after receipt of the notice of denial.
(6) An applicant may withdraw an application any time before the Commission issues a recommendation, and may not file a new application for two years following withdrawal. A new application and supporting documentation shall be considered a de novo filing, and the Commission shall not consider the withdrawn application or its supporting documentation.
(7) [Repealed.]
(8) All proceedings, applications, and supporting documentation shall be public except material exempt pursuant to subdivision 317(c)(40) of this title. Any documents relating to genealogy submitted in support of the application shall be available only to the three-member review panel.
(e) An applicant for recognition shall be recognized as follows:
(1) by approval of the General Assembly;
(2) two years after a recommendation to recognize a tribe by the Commission is filed with the legislative committees, provided the General Assembly took no action on the recommendation.
(f) A decision by the Commission to recommend denial of recognition is final unless an applicant or a successor of interest to the applicant that has previously applied for and been denied recognition under this chapter provides new and substantial documentation and demonstrates that the new documentation was not reasonably available at the time of the filing of the original application.
(g) Vermont Native American Indian bands and tribes and individual members of those bands and tribes remain subject to all the laws of the State.
(h) Recognition of a Native American Indian tribe shall not be construed to create, extend, or form the basis of any right or claim to land or real estate in Vermont or right to conduct any gambling activities prohibited by law, but confers only those rights specifically described in this chapter.
(Added 2005, No. 125 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 3, 2006; amended 2009, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. May 14, 2010; 2013, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 80, eff. July 1, 2014.)
The Elnu Abenaki Tribe has filed an application for tribal recognition with the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs and has complied with the recognition requirements contained in subdivisions 853(c)(1)-(9) of this title and is hereby recognized by the State of Vermont as a Native American Indian tribe.
(Added 2011, No. 9, § 1, eff. April 22, 2011.)
The Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation has filed an application for tribal recognition with the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs and has complied with the recognition requirements contained in subdivisions 853(c)(1)-(9) of this title and is hereby recognized by the State of Vermont as a Native American Indian tribe.
(Added 2011, No. 8, § 1, eff. April 22, 2011.)
The Koasek Abenaki of the Koas has filed an application for tribal recognition with the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs and has complied with the recognition requirements contained in subdivisions 853(c)(1)-(9) of this title and is hereby recognized by the State of Vermont as a Native American Indian tribe.
(Added 2011, No. 106 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 7, 2012.)
The Missisquoi, St. Francis-Sokoki Band has filed an application for tribal recognition with the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs and has complied with the recognition requirements contained in subdivisions 853(c)(1)-(9) of this title and is hereby recognized by the State of Vermont as a Native American Indian tribe.
(Added 2011, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 7, 2012.)
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Commission” means the Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including its commissioners, committees, and staff.
(2) “Consultation” means a meaningful and timely process of seeking, discussing, and considering carefully the views of others in a manner that is cognizant of all parties’ cultural values.
(3) “Panel” means the Selection Panel established pursuant to section 904 of this chapter.
(4) “Record” means any written or recorded information, regardless of physical form or characteristics.
(Added 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 24, 2022; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
(a) There is created and established a body corporate and politic to be known as the Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is constituted a public instrumentality exercising public and essential government functions and the exercise by the Commission of the power conferred by this chapter shall be deemed and held to be the performance of an essential governmental function.
(b)(1) The Commission shall consist of three commissioners appointed pursuant to section 905 of this chapter and shall include one or more committees established by the commissioners to examine institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination caused or permitted by State laws and policies experienced by each of the following populations and communities in Vermont:
(A) individuals who identify as Native American or Indigenous;
(B) individuals with a physical, psychiatric, or mental condition or disability and the families of individuals with a physical, psychiatric, or mental condition or disability;
(C) Black individuals and other individuals of color;
(D) individuals with French Canadian, French-Indian, or other mixed ethnic or racial heritage; and
(E) in the commissioners’ discretion, other populations and communities that have experienced institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination caused or permitted by State laws and policies.
(2)(A) Each committee shall consist of the commissioners and members appointed by the commissioners in consultation with the populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection (b).
(B) The commissioners shall ensure that the members of each committee shall be broadly representative of the populations and communities who are the subject of that committees’ work.
(C) The commissioners may appoint not more than 30 committee members in the aggregate across all of the committees established pursuant to subdivision 906(a)(1) of this chapter.
(D)(i) Except as otherwise provided pursuant to subdivision (ii) of this subdivision (2)(D), committee members shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses as permitted under 32 V.S.A. § 1010 for not more than eight meetings per calendar year. These payments shall be made from monies appropriated to the Commission.
(ii) The commissioners may authorize committee members to receive per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses as permitted under 32 V.S.A. § 1010 for additional meetings in each calendar year. Payments for additional meetings shall be made from grants or additional funding received by the Commissioners pursuant to subdivision 906(b)(11) of this chapter. In no event shall the per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses for any additional meetings exceed the amounts permitted pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 1010.
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require the Commission to examine institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination experienced by the populations and communities identified in subdivision (1) of this subsection in isolation or separately from each other.
(Added 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 24, 2022; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
(a) Commissioners shall be full-time State employees and shall be exempt from the State classified system.
(b) The commissioners shall receive compensation equal to one-half that of a Superior Court Judge.
(c) The term of each commissioner shall begin on the date of appointment and end on May 1, 2027.
(Added 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 24, 2022; amended 2023, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 13, 2024; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
(a) The Selection Panel shall be composed of the following five members:
(1) the Executive Director of Racial Equity or designee;
(2) the Executive Director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living or designee;
(3) an individual, who shall not be a current member of the General Assembly, appointed by the Speaker of the House;
(4) an individual, who shall not be a current member of the General Assembly, appointed by the Committee on Committees; and
(5) an individual, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.
(b)(1) The Selection Panel shall select and appoint the commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as provided pursuant to section 905 of this chapter.
(2) To enable it to carry out its duty to select and appoint the commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as provided pursuant to section 905 of this chapter, the Panel may:
(A) adopt procedures as necessary to carry out the duties set forth in section 905 of this chapter; and
(B) meet and hold hearings at any place in this State.
(c) The term of each member of the Panel shall begin on the date of appointment and end on May 1, 2027.
(d) The Panel shall select a chair and a vice chair from among its members.
(e)(1) Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chair or at the request of four or more members of the Panel.
(2) A majority of the current membership of the Panel shall constitute a quorum, and actions of the Panel may be authorized by a majority of the members present and voting at a meeting of the Panel.
(f) Members of the Panel who are not otherwise compensated by the State shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 1010 for meetings to carry out the Panel’s duties pursuant to this section and sections 905 and 905a of this chapter. These payments shall be made from amounts appropriated to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
(g) The Panel shall have the administrative and legal assistance of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
(h)(1) A member of the Panel who is not serving ex officio may be removed by the appropriate appointing authority for incompetence, failure to discharge the member’s duties, malfeasance, or illegal acts.
(2) A vacancy occurring on the Panel shall be filled by the appropriate appointing authority for the remainder of the term.
(Added 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 24, 2022; amended 2023, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 13, 2024; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
(a)(1) Except as otherwise provided pursuant to subdivision (c)(1) of this section, the Selection Panel shall, on or before December 31, 2022, select three individuals to serve as the commissioners of the Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
(2) In carrying out its duty to select the commissioners, the Panel shall:
(A) Establish a public, transparent, and simple process for candidates to apply to serve as a commissioner.
(B) Publicize the application process, deadlines, and requirements to serve as a commissioner through media outlets, civil society organizations, and any other forms of public outreach that the Panel determines to be appropriate.
(C) Solicit nominations for individuals to serve as commissioners from civil society organizations in Vermont whose work relates to the mission of the Commission.
(D) Invite Vermont residents to submit applications to serve as commissioners.
(E) Hold one or more public hearings to provide an opportunity for members of the public to meet and ask questions of the finalists to serve as a commissioner.
(F) Hold private interviews with each individual selected by the Panel as a finalist for selection as a commissioner.
(G) Conduct criminal history record checks for finalists, provided that the Panel shall only consider felony convictions or convictions for crimes involving untruthfulness or falsification. A finalist who has been convicted of a felony or a crime involving untruthfulness or falsification shall be afforded an opportunity to explain the information and the circumstances regarding the conviction, including postconviction rehabilitation.
(H) Take any other actions that the Panel deems appropriate or necessary to carry out its duties in relation to the selection of commissioners.
(3) The three commissioners selected by the Panel shall:
(A) be residents of Vermont;
(B) not be members of the Selection Panel;
(C) have knowledge of the problems and challenges facing the populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivisions 902(b)(1)(A)–(D) of this chapter; and
(D) satisfy any additional criteria established by the Panel.
(b) Not later than five days after selecting the commissioners pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Panel shall submit a brief report to the Governor and the General Assembly identifying the commissioners. The names of the commissioners shall be made available to the public on the same day that the report is submitted.
(c)(1) If the Panel is unable to identify three suitable applicants on or before December 31, 2022, the Panel may by a majority vote extend the time to select commissioners to March 31, 2023.
(2) If the Panel extends the time to select commissioners pursuant to this subsection, the Panel shall, on or before January 5, 2023, submit a brief written report to the House Committee on General, Housing, and Military Affairs and the Senate Committee on Government Operations providing notice of its decision to extend the time to select commissioners and its reasons for doing so and identifying any changes to the provisions of this chapter that may be necessary to enable the Panel to successfully identify and select commissioners.
(d) The Panel shall fill any vacancy occurring among the commissioners within 60 days after the vacancy occurs in the manner set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. A commissioner appointed to fill a vacancy pursuant to this subsection shall be appointed to serve for the balance of the unexpired term.
(Added 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 24, 2022; amended 2023, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. May 13, 2024; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
The Selection Panel may, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, reprimand or remove a commissioner for incompetence, failure to discharge the commissioner’s duties, malfeasance, illegal acts, or other actions that the Panel determines would substantially and materially harm the credibility of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission or its ability to carry out its work pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. Notwithstanding subdivision 904(e)(2) of this chapter, the reprimand or removal of a commissioner shall only be authorized by a vote of the majority of the members of the Panel.
(Added 2023, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. May 13, 2024; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
(a) Duties. The commissioners shall:
(1) establish, in consultation with the populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivision 902(b)(1) of this chapter and other interested parties in the commissioners’ discretion, committees to examine institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination caused or permitted by State laws and policies that have been experienced by the populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivision 902(b)(1) of this chapter;
(2) determine, in consultation with the populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivision 902(b)(1) of this chapter, historians, social scientists, experts in restorative justice, and other interested parties in the commissioners’ discretion, the scope and objectives of the work to be carried out by each committee established pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection;
(3) develop and implement a process for each committee established pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection to fulfill the objectives established pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection;
(4) work with the committees and Commission staff to carry out research, public engagement, and other work necessary to:
(A) identify and examine historic and ongoing institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination against members of the populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivision 902(b)(1) of this chapter that has been caused or permitted by State laws and policies;
(B) determine the current status of members of the populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivision 902(b)(1) of this chapter; and
(C) satisfy the scope of work and the objectives established pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection (a);
(5) work with the committees and Commission staff to identify potential programs and activities to create and improve opportunities for or to eliminate disparities experienced by the populations and communities that are the subject of the committees’ work;
(6) work with the committees and Commission staff to identify potential educational programs related to historic and ongoing institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination against members of the populations and communities that are the subject of the committees’ work;
(7) work in consultation with the populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivision 902(b)(1) of this chapter, experts in restorative justice, and, in the commissioners’ discretion, other interested parties to ensure that the work of the Commission is open, transparent, inclusive, and meaningful; and
(8) supervise the work of the Executive Director of the Commission.
(b) Powers. To carry out its duties pursuant to this chapter, the commissioners may:
(1) [Repealed.]
(2) Adopt procedures as necessary to carry out the duties set forth in subsection (a) of this section.
(3) Establish and maintain a principal office.
(4) Meet and hold hearings at any place in this State.
(5) Consult with local, national, and international experts on issues related to discrimination, truth and reconciliation, and restorative justice.
(6) Interview and take statements from members of the populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivision 902(b)(1) of this chapter; members of the public; and persons with knowledge of the institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination experienced by such populations and communities.
(7) Study, research, investigate, and report on the impact of State laws and policies on populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivision 902(b)(1) of this chapter. If the Commission determines that particular laws or policies caused or permitted institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination against a population or community, regardless of whether the discrimination was intentional or adversely impacted the population or community, the Commission may propose legislative or administrative action to the General Assembly or Governor, as appropriate, to remedy the impacts on the population or community.
(8) Enter into cooperative agreements with private organizations or individuals or with any agency or instrumentality of the United States or of this State to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
(9) Make and execute legal documents necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers and duties under this chapter.
(10) Hire consultants and independent contractors to assist the Commission in carrying out the provisions of this chapter.
(11) Seek grants or funding other than annual State appropriations to further the work of the Commission.
(12) Take any other actions necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
(13)(A) Establish groups in which individuals who have experienced institutional, structural, or systemic discrimination or are a member of a population or community that has experienced institutional, structural, or systemic discrimination may participate for purposes of sharing experiences and providing mutual support.
(B) Commissioners shall not participate in any meeting or session of a group established pursuant to this subdivision (13).
(C) Groups established pursuant to this subdivision (13) may continue to exist after the date on which the Commission ceases to exist, provided that after that date Commission staff shall no longer provide any assistance or services to the groups and Commission funds shall no longer be spent in support of the groups.
(Added 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 24, 2022; amended 2023, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. May 13, 2024; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
(a) The Commissioners shall appoint an Executive Director. The Executive Director shall be a full-time State employee, shall be exempt from the State classified system, and shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioners.
(b) The Executive Director shall be responsible for the following:
(1) supervising and administering the implementation of the provisions of this chapter on behalf of the commissioners;
(2) assisting the commissioners in carrying out their duties;
(3) ensuring that the Commission has the resources and staff assistance necessary to collect historical materials, take statements from individuals, hold public hearings and events, and prepare and publish reports and other documents;
(4) facilitating communications between the Commission and members of the populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivision 902(b)(1) of this chapter, interested parties, and members of the public;
(5) hiring staff, including researchers and administrative and legal professionals, as necessary to carry out the duties of the Commission; and
(6) preparing an annual budget for submission to the commissioners.
(Added 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 24, 2022; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
(a) On or before January 15, 2024, the Commission shall submit to the Governor and General Assembly an interim report on the Commission’s progress to date, the committees established pursuant to subdivision 906(a)(1) of this chapter and the scope and objectives of their work, emerging themes and issues that the Commission has identified, and, if available, any preliminary findings and recommendations for legislative or other action that the Commission believes should be prioritized to address instances of institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination identified by the Commission.
(b)(1) On or before April 15, 2027, the Commission shall submit a final report incorporating the findings and recommendations of each committee. Each report shall detail the findings and recommendations of the relevant committee and shall include recommendations for actions that can be taken to eliminate ongoing instances of institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination and to address the harm caused by historic instances of institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination.
(2) The Commission shall, on or before October 15, 2026, make a draft of the final report publicly available and provide copies of the draft to interested parties from the populations and communities identified pursuant to subdivision 902(b)(1) of this chapter and other interested parties. The Commission shall provide the interested parties and members of the public with not less than 60 days to review the draft and provide comments on it. The Commission shall consider fully all comments submitted in relation to the draft and shall include with the final version of the report a summary of all comments received and a concise statement of the reasons why the Commission decided to incorporate or reject any proposed changes. Comments submitted in relation to the final report shall be made available to the public in a manner that complies with the requirements of section 909 of this chapter.
(3) The draft and final report shall include:
(A) a bibliography of all sources, interviews, and materials utilized in preparing the report;
(B) a summary of the interviews utilized in preparing the report, including the total number of interviews, and whether each interview was public or confidential, and whether a transcript or summary, or both, is available for each interview; and
(C) information regarding where members of the public can access and obtain copies of the sources and materials utilized in preparing the report, including the transcripts or summaries of interviews.
(c) The Commission may, in its discretion, issue additional reports to the Governor, General Assembly, and public.
(Added 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 24, 2022; amended 2023, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. May 13, 2024; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
(a) Access to State records and information.
(1) The Commission shall have access to and the right to copy any record or other information held by all executive, administrative, and judicial agencies and departments and all instrumentalities of the State. All executive, administrative, and judicial agencies and departments and all instrumentalities of the State shall cooperate with the Commission with respect to any request for access to any record or other information and shall provide all records or other information requested by the Commission to the extent permitted by law.
(2) The Commission shall keep confidential any information received from an executive, administrative, or judicial agency or department or an instrumentality of the State that is confidential or is exempt from the Public Records Act.
(b) Confidentiality requirements.
(1) Except as otherwise provided pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, information and records acquired by or provided to the Commission that would in any manner reveal an individual’s identity shall be kept confidential and shall be exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act.
(2) The Commission shall not include the personally identifying information of any individual in any report that it produces without the express, written consent of the individual.
(c) Exceptions.
(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, information and records acquired by or provided to the Commission shall only be available to the public in an anonymized form that does not reveal the identity of any individual.
(2) Information or records acquired by or provided to the Commission may be disclosed in a manner that would reveal the identity of an individual if that individual has provided their express, written consent to the disclosure of the information or record in a manner that would reveal their identity.
(d) Private proceedings.
(1) Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 5, subchapter 2 of this title, the Vermont Open Meeting Law, or section 911 of this chapter to the contrary, the Commission shall permit any individual who is interviewed by the Commission to elect to have the individual’s interview conducted in a manner that protects the individual’s privacy and to have any recording of the interview kept confidential by the Commission. Any other record or document produced in relation to an interview conducted pursuant to this subdivision (d)(1) shall be available to the public in an anonymized form that does not reveal the identity of any individual.
(2) The Commission shall adopt procedures and safeguards to ensure to the greatest extent possible that it does not conduct any interview in a manner that is open to the public if the interview will reveal the identities of individuals other than the interviewee without the express, written consent of those individuals.
(Added 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 24, 2022; amended 2023, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. May 13, 2024; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
The establishment of the following exempt limited-service positions within the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is authorized in fiscal year 2023:
(1) one Executive Director;
(2) one Staff Attorney;
(3) one Researcher; and
(4) one Administrative Assistant.
(Added 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 24, 2022; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 5, subchapter 2 of this title, the deliberations of a quorum or more of the members of the Commission shall not be subject to the Vermont Open Meeting Law.
(b) The Commission shall regularly post to the Commission’s website a short summary of all deliberative meetings held by the commissioners pursuant to this section.
(c)(1) As used in this section, “deliberations” means weighing, examining, and discussing information gathered by the Commission and the reasons for and against an act or decision.
(2) “Deliberations” expressly excludes:
(A) taking evidence, except as otherwise provided pursuant to section 909 of this chapter;
(B) hearing arguments for or against an act or decision of the Commission;
(C) taking public comment; and
(D) making any decision related to an act or the official duties of the Commission.
(Added 2023, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. May 13, 2024; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
(a) The sessions of groups established pursuant to subdivision 906(b)(13) of this chapter shall be confidential and privileged. Participants in a group session, including Commission staff or individuals whom the Commission contracts with to facilitate group sessions, shall be subject to a duty of confidentiality and shall keep confidential any information gained during a group session.
(b) A person who attended a group session may bring a private action in the Civil Division of the Superior Court for damages resulting from a breach of the duty of confidentiality established pursuant to this section.
(c) This section shall not be construed to limit or otherwise affect the application of a common law duty of confidentiality to group sessions and any action that may be brought based on a breach of that duty.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the limited disclosure of information to specific persons under the following circumstances:
(1) The disclosure:
(A) relates to a threat or statement of a plan made during a group session that the individual reasonably believes is likely to result in death or bodily injury to themselves or others or damage to the property of themselves or another person; and
(B) is made to law enforcement authorities or another person that is reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat.
(2) The disclosure is based on a reasonable suspicion of abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult and a report is made in accordance with the provisions of 33 V.S.A. § 4914 or 6903 or to comply with another law.
(e) The Commission shall ensure that all participants in a group session are provided with notice of the provisions of this section, including any rights and obligations of participants that are established pursuant to this section.
(f) As used in this section, “group session” means any meeting of a group established pursuant to subdivision 906(b)(13) of this chapter for purposes of the participants sharing or discussing their experiences and providing mutual support. “Group session” does not include any gathering of the participants in a group established pursuant to subdivision 906(b)(13) of this chapter that includes one or more members of the Commission.
(Added 2023, No. 107 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. May 13, 2024; repealed on May 1, 2027 by 2021, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)
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