The Vermont Legislature passed Act 133 (S.55) that amended Vermont’s Open Meeting Law, 1 V.S.A. effective July 1, 2024.
Highlights of Act 133 (S.55) include:
- permits “advisory bodies” – those that do not have supervision, control, or jurisdiction over legislative, quasi-judicial, tax, or budgetary matters – to meet electronically without a physical meeting location (i.e., remotely);
- requires all other public bodies (i.e., “nonadvisory bodies”) to record, in audio or video form, their meetings and post the recordings in a designated electronic location for a minimum of 30 days following the approval and posting of the official minutes of the meeting which was recorded;
- allows all public bodies to meet remotely in response to a state of emergency or “local incident”;
- requires all public bodies to provide local residents, members of the press, or members of the body itself electronic/telephonic or in-person meeting access options to a regularly scheduled meeting, if requested (unless it causes an undue hardship);
- requires a municipality to post on its website (if it maintains one):
- an explanation of the procedures for submitting notice of an Open Meeting Law violation to the public body or the Attorney General; and
- a copy of the text of 1 V.S.A. § 314; and
- imposes annual training requirements on selectboard chairs, town managers, and mayors.
Here’s a link to the text of 1 V.S.A. § 314:
https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/01/005/00314
Here’s a link 1 V.S.A. § 310: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/01/005/00310
Procedures for submitting notice of an Open Meeting Law violation to the public body or Attorney General may be found in the “Records”- “Ordinances” section of this website.
