Vermont's Open Meeting Law Changes

Act 133 (S.55) Amendments to Open Meeting Law to Take Effect July 1, 2024

Act 133 (S.55) Amendments to Open Meeting Law to Take Effect July 1, 2024

JUNE 12, 2024

Act 133 (S.55) is a permanent amendment to Vermont’s Open Meeting Law that: 

• 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. 

None of these changes take effect until July 1, 2024. Until that time, all public bodies can continue holding remote meetings (see our COVD-19 Open Meeting Law FAQs), and after that time all public bodies will continue to be able to hold hybrid meetings. 

The training requirements take effect on January 1, 2025.

VLCT’s staff attorneys are coordinating with the Secretary of State and the Vermont School Boards Association as part of developing new Act 133 (S.55) Open Meeting Law FAQs. Until these resources are posted, please direct any questions you may have to vlct.org/askvlct, info@vlct.org, or 1-800-649-7915.

How does a member of the public enforce the open meeting law?  (A guide to Open Meetings- VT revised 2019- link)

If you think that an open meeting law violation has occurred, the first step is to submit a written notice to the public body, alleging a specific violation and requesting a specific cure. Upon receipt of this written notice, the public body must respond publicly within 10 calendar days, either by acknowledging the violation and stating its intent to cure it or by stating its determination that no violation occurred and so no cure is necessary. Failure to publicly respond is treated as a denial of the violation. 1 V.S.A. § 314(b)(1)–(3).

If the public body acknowledges a violation of the open meeting law, it must cure the violation within 14 calendar days. First, the public body must either ratify, or declare as void, any action that was taken at or resulted from: 1) a meeting that was improperly noticed under 1 V.S.A. § 312(c) (public announcement and posting of regular, special, and emergency meetings); 2) a meeting that a person or the public was wrongfully excluded from attending; or 3) an executive session, or a portion of an executive session, that was not authorized by 1 V.S.A. § 313(a)(1)– (10). Second, the public body must adopt specific measures that actually prevent future violations. 1 V.S.A. § 314(b)(4).

If the public body denies the violation or fails to cure an acknowledged violation in a timely manner, you can file suit against the public body in the Civil Division of the Superior Court in the county where the alleged violation took place. The suit must be brought within one year after 14 the meeting at which the violation occurred or to which the violation relates. The court will then decide whether a violation occurred, whether a declaratory judgment or injunctive relief is appropriate, and whether circumstances require the public body to pay attorney’s fees and litigation costs. 1 V.S.A. § 314(c), (d).

Changes coming July 1st, 2024- For more information follow this link to Vermont League of Cities & Towns