Vermont Public Records Law
From Sunshine Review
Contents |
The Public Records Law is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Vermont.
The Open Meetings Law legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.
[edit] Recent news
[edit] Transparency blocking
- Editorial: Open government goes beyond access
- Editorial: Exorbitant fee limits public records access
- E-mail ruling weakens public accountability
More transparency blocking news from across the country.
[edit] Litigation
More FOIA litigation news from across the country.
[edit] Legislation
No recent news. If you have news add it here
More FOIA legislation news from across the country.
[edit] Sunshine Guardians
No recent news. If you have news add it here
Other Sunshine Guardians from across the country.
[edit] Vermont's transparency report card
A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Vermont #49 in the nation with an overall percentage of 34.80%. [1]
A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Vermont 62 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "D", and a ranking of 12 out of the 50 states.[2]
A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Vermont's law as the 10th best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "C".[3]
[edit] Features of the law
"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." [4]
[edit] What records are covered?
Public records includes all documents, no matter the physical form that are "produced or acquired in the course of public agency business". [5]
Notable exemptions include but are not limited to:
- Criminal investigations
- Tax returns
- Personal documents, including contact information, application information and financial and medical information
- Examinations
- Trade secrets
- Lists of names that would violate privacy law or be used for commercial purposes
- Student records
- Information on potential property sale/purchase or use by the state
- Records relevant to current litigation
- Collective bargaining information
- Information voluntarily provided by corporations
- Internal investigations of state agencies or employees
- Library records
- Archaeological sites
- Academic research
- Security information
- Registered voter information
- Credit cards and bank account numbers
- Health records
[edit] What agencies are covered?
Agencies include all branches of government at both the state and local levels.
[edit] Who may request records?
Anyone may request public documents in Vermont. "Any person may inspect or copy any public record or document of a public agency". [7]
[edit] Must a purpose be stated?
Vermont law does not require a statement of purpose for a records request.
[edit] How can records be used?
Vermont law places no restrictions on the use of public records.
[edit] Time allowed for response
- See also: Request response times by state.
Records denials must be issued within 2 days of receiving the records request. This limit can be extended to ten days for unusual circumstances. Vermont law does not prescribe a specific time for the release of records.[8]
[edit] Fees for records
Vermont law only allows fees to be charged for the cost of copying and for the cost of search or compilation if the time required exceeds 30 minutes. [9]
[edit] Open Meetings
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". [10]
[edit] Proposed changes
[edit] Relevant legal cases
- See also: Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
Here is a list of lawsuits in Vermont. For more information go the page or go to Vermont sunshine lawsuits.
(The cases are listed alphabetically. To order them by year please click the icon to the right of the Year heading)
| Lawsuit | Year |
|---|---|
| Clement v. Graham | 1906 |
| Matte v. City of Winooski | 1970 |
| State of Vermont v. Edgar Whitney | 2005 |
| State v. Vermont Emergency Board | 1978 |
| Trombley v. Bellows Falls Union High School District | 1992 |
[edit] Notable requests
[edit] See also
- Vermont FOIA procedures
- Vermont transparency advocates
- Vermont transparency legislation
- The Public Assets Institute and the Ethan Allen Institute launched Vermont Transparency, which discloses information about state spending, state revenues, municipal spending, federal contracts, education finance, school spending and federal stimulus funds.
[edit] External links
- Vermont Statutes
- Secretary of State Guide to Right to Know
- Open Government Guide to Vermont
- Past articles on Vermont
[edit] References
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