H 953

No. M-11  Page 1 of 2
2026
No. M-11. An act relating to approval of an amendment to the charter of
the Town of Panton.
                                    (H.953)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. CHARTER AMENDMENT APPROVAL
   The General Assembly approves the amendment of the charter of the Town
of Panton as set forth in this act. The voters of the Town approved the
proposals of amendment on May 15, 2025.
Sec. 2. 24 App. V.S.A. chapter 129F is amended to read:
                   CHAPTER 129F. TOWN OF PANTON
                                      ***
§ 5. RECALL OF ELECTED TOWN OFFICERS
   (a) Any elected Town officer may be removed from office subject to the
following conditions and procedures:
      (1) A written petition, signed by not less than 15 percent of the
registered voters of the Town, seeking the removal of a Town officer and
requesting a vote of the Town at a regular or special Town meeting called for
the purpose, shall be filed with the Selectboard and the Town Clerk.
      (2) If the petition is filed not more than 60 days and not less than 47
days before the next regular Town meeting, the Selectboard shall place the
question of whether the elected officer shall be removed on the warning for the
next regular Town meeting. Otherwise, the Selectboard shall call a special
Town meeting, to be held within 45 days after receiving the petition, to vote on
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2026
whether the elected officer shall be removed. In either case, the recall vote
shall be held by Australian ballot.
      (3) When the petitioned removal is approved by a majority of the votes
cast at the regular or special Town meeting, the Town officer named in the
petition shall cease to hold office.
      (4) The officer shall be removed only if at least as many registered
voters of the Town vote to approve the petition as voted to elect said officer in
the most recent election wherein the officer was elected, or at least one-third of
the registered voters of the Town vote, whichever is fewer.
   (b) A vacancy resulting from the recall of an officer shall be filled in the
manner prescribed by law.
   (c) A recall petition shall not be brought against an individual more than
once within any 12-month period.
Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
   This act shall take effect on passage.
Date Governor signed bill: June 8, 2026
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