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No. 51. An act relating to amendments to Vermont’s Open Meeting Law.
                                      (S.59)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. 1 V.S.A. § 310 is amended to read:
§ 310. DEFINITIONS
   As used in this subchapter:
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      (9) “Undue hardship” means an action required to achieve compliance
would require 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, sufficient the availability of necessary
personnel and staffing availability staff, the entity’s budget available resources,
and the costs associated with compliance.
Sec. 2. 1 V.S.A. § 312 is amended to read:
§ 312. RIGHT TO ATTEND MEETINGS OF PUBLIC AGENCIES BODIES
   (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
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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.
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       (3)(A) State nonadvisory public bodies; hybrid meeting requirement;
exception for advisory bodies. Any public body of the State, except advisory
bodies, shall:
          (A)(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;
          (B)(ii) electronically record all meetings; and
          (C)(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.
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       (5) State nonadvisory public bodies; State and local advisory bodies;
designating electronic platforms. State nonadvisory A public bodies body
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meeting in a hybrid fashion pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection and
State and local advisory bodies meeting without a physical meeting location 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 nonadvisory 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 approval and
posting of the official 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.
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   (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
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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.
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   (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:
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         (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.
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      (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
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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.
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   (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; and
         (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.
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Sec. 3. 1 V.S.A. § 313 is amended to read:
§ 313. EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
   (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
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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. Such 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:
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      (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.
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Sec. 4. LEGISLATIVE INTENT
   It is the intent of the General Assembly that section 5 of this act amend 13
V.S.A. § 1026 to conform subdivision (a)(4) of that section with the
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constitutional requirements articulated in the Supreme Court of Vermont
decision State v. Colby, 185 Vt. 464 (2009).
Sec. 5. 13 V.S.A. § 1026 is amended to read:
§ 1026. DISORDERLY CONDUCT
   (a) A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if he or she the person, with
intent to cause public inconvenience or annoyance, or recklessly creates a risk
thereof:
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      (4) without lawful authority, disturbs any lawful assembly or meeting of
persons; or
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   (c) As used in this section:
      (1) “Disturbs any lawful assembly or meeting of persons” means
conduct that substantially impairs the effective conduct of an assembly or
meeting, including conduct that:
           (A) causes an assembly or meeting to terminate prematurely; or
           (B) consists of numerous and sustained efforts to disrupt an assembly
or meeting after being asked to desist.
      (2) “Meeting” includes a meeting of a public body, as those terms are
defined in 1 V.S.A. § 310.
Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE
   This act shall take effect on passage.
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Date Governor signed bill: June 9, 2025
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