Open Meeting Law COVID-19 FAQs 2023

The Act is a temporary law that suspends certain provisions of Vermont’s Open Meeting Law by allowing a quorum of a municipal public body to meet remotely, without designating a physical location for the public to attend. The Act also allows public bodies to electronically post meeting agendas and special meeting notices, with some additional requirements in those cases

Pursuant to the Act:

• A quorum or more of members of a public body may meet (e.g. regular, special, or emergency meeting) by electronic or other means (i.e., remotely) without being physically present. When meeting by electronic or other means:
  • the public body does not have to designate a physical meeting location where the public can attend; and
  • the members and staff of the public body are not required to be physically present at a designated meeting location.
• Whenever a public body holds a remote meeting, it must:
  • use technology that allows the public to attend by electronic or other means;
  • allow the public to access the meeting by telephone;
  • include and post information that enables the public to directly access and participate in the meeting electronically in its meeting agenda; and
  • record their meetings, if it is a meeting of a legislative body, unless unusual circumstances make it impossible for them to do so.
• Posting meeting agenda and/or special meeting notice:
  • The Act also allows a public body to post any meeting agenda or special meeting notice in two designated electronic locations in lieu of the two physical locations (or a combination of physical and electronic locations, or both) normally required. As with the underlying Open Meeting Law, posting the notice or agenda in the town clerk’s office is still required.
  • Public bodies must also provide a copy of each meeting agenda or special meeting notice to the newspapers of general circulation for the municipality.

All other requirements of the Open Meeting Law not explicitly overridden or relaxed by this temporary law remain in effect and must be followed. For more information about Open Meeting Law (OML) requirements, please see our OML FAQs.

The law is set to sunset (i.e. expire) on July 1, 2024.

Yes. Last year, Act 78 included one minor extension to the deadline for posting minutes. If there were staffing shortages due to COVID-19, then, public bodies were permitted, until January 15, 2023, to post minutes within 10 calendar days from the date of the meeting (versus the former 5 days). That provision of Act 78 was not carried forward to the Act. Consequently, public bodies must abide by the preexisting requirement which is that minutes must be available for inspection five calendar days after the meeting. 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2). In addition, minutes must be posted no later than five calendar days after the meeting to an official website, if one exists, that is maintained or has been designated as the official website of the public body. 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2). Except for draft minutes that have been substituted with updated minutes, posted minutes shall not be removed from the website sooner than one year from the date of the meeting for which the minutes were taken. 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2). For more information about minutes, please see our OML FAQs.

The Act applies to any public body. The Open Meeting Law defines a “public body” as, in relevant part, “any board, council, or commission of the State or one or more of its political subdivisions, any board, council, or commission of any agency, authority, or instrumentality of the State or one or more of its political subdivisions, or any committee of any of the foregoing boards, councils, or commissions…” 1 V.S.A. § 310(4). The term “municipality” is defined under law as including “a city, town, town school district, incorporated school or fire district or incorporated village, and all other governmental incorporated units.” 1 V.S.A. § 126. The law, therefore, applies to all municipal public bodies.

The Act also applies to quasi-judicial hearings, as hearings are just a different type of meeting (i.e. a gathering of a quorum of members of a public body to discuss business of the public body or to take action). A quasi-judicial hearing (“hearing”) occurs when the rights of parties are considered. Examples include applications for zoning approval before the development review board (DRB), appeals of lister grievances before the board of civil authority (BCA), and dog bite hearings before the selectboard. The Open Meeting Law requirements apply equally to hearings as they do to other meetings, with a few exceptions. For instance, hearings have their own specific notice requirements. Also, as opposed to other types of meetings, the public has no right to comment during a hearing and boards can make decisions (i.e. “deliberate”) in private. For more information about how the Open Meetings Law applies to quasi-judicial hearings, please refer to our Open Meeting Law FAQs.

All members, staff, and members of the public may attend and participate in remote meetings (e.g., telephone, Zoom, GoToMeeting, Skype, etc.). Each member of the public body who attends electronically must identify themselves when the meeting is convened and must be able to hear and be heard throughout the meeting. Any voting that occurs at the meeting that is not unanimous must be done by roll call.

Act 1 (H.42) of 2023 eliminates the physical location requirement for meetings of public bodies until July 1, 2024. During this time, a public body will not have to designate a physical location in order to meet, nor will anyone be required to be physically present for a meeting. The public body will have to post information on how the public may access and participate in its meetings electronically. This information must be included in each meeting’s agenda and we recommend including it in all notices or announcements as well. For more detailed guidance, a checklist, and models for remote meetings, please refer to our Remote-Only Public Meetings Toolkit.

No. Act 1 (H.42) of 2023 temporarily waives the Open Meeting Law’s physical location requirement until July 1, 2024. During this time, meetings can be solely electronic and remote for all participants. However, when a majority of the members of a public body gather to discuss the business of the body or to act, even through electronic means, the public must still be allowed to access and participate in the meeting. The Act requires the use of technology that permits public attendance at all meetings through electronic or other means. The law also requires the public body to allow public participation by telephone.

The public body must provide clear instructions on how the public may access and participate in meetings electronically in its meeting agenda. We encourage public bodies to advertise these instructions in additional ways beyond the minimum that is required by the law in order to achieve the most impactful public participation possible. The public body must set up their remote meeting in such a way that enables all members of the public body to hear and be heard throughout the meeting.

Yes, but the posting requirements for meeting agendas and notices of special meetings of public bodies have been relaxed to allow for electronic notification. Act 1 (H.42) of 2023 gives municipalities the option, until July 1, 2024, to post any meeting agenda or notice of a special meeting in two designated electronic locations instead of the two designated physical locations that would ordinarily be required under the Open Meeting Law. Alternatively, towns can post meeting notices or agendas in a combination of the two (one physical, one electronic). Public bodies that use either option to post electronically must also post the notice or agenda in or near the town clerk’s office and provide a copy of each notice or agenda to the newspapers of general circulation for the municipality. (Note that the newspaper is not required to publish the notice or agenda.) All the other notice and agenda posting requirements remain the same and must be complied with, as this temporary allowance only applies to the physical posting element. Please see our Open Meeting Law FAQs for a listing of these requirements.

No, electronic posting is only an option for regular and special meeting agendas and special meeting notices.

No. It applies to all meetings, whether they are held in person, remotely, or a combination of the two (i.e. as a hybrid meeting).

No. This is an option of which public bodies may, but do not have to, avail themselves. A public body can continue posting meeting notices and agendas in the required physical locations, as usual.

The same way you would maintain order during a physical meeting. The chairperson should administer the meeting in accordance with your public body’s rules of procedure. The Open Meeting Law requirement that the public be given a reasonable opportunity to express its opinion on matters considered by a public body has not been lifted or relaxed and still applies equally to all meetings, regardless of how they are conducted.

Civility, decorum, and order are all essential elements of a successful public meeting, and they are at times difficult to achieve even under the best of circumstances. One of the additional challenges posed by conducting a remote meeting is the absence or delay of any real time physical cues. For example, if a meeting is conducted by conference call only, the chairperson will be unable to see who has their hand raised to be recognized. Members of the public body and the public must also be mindful not to talk over one another and to speak clearly so that meetings can be properly recorded (if applicable) and that all can hear and be heard throughout the meeting.  It is important therefore that the public body review its rules of procedure and amend them if necessary, so that they are still applicable to remote meetings. (Model Rules of Procedure for Public Bodies can be found at These model rules can be customized and adopted by public bodies to help run their meetings.) More than ever, it is incumbent upon public bodies to educate its members and the public as to its rules of procedure and how they will be enforced.

Some municipalities have had success using available electronic meeting software to manage meetings. Some meeting software allows participants to press a button and electronically “raise their hand.” Other municipalities have requested that those wishing to publicly speak fill out and submit a participant comment form prior to the meeting.

No, only the legislative body’s remote meetings must be recorded. Note that this is referring to making an audio recording of a meeting; it is not a requirement to video record a meeting nor is it creating a new requirement to record meeting minutes in the land records. If “unusual circumstances” make it impossible for the legislative body to record its meetings, then this requirement will not apply. The term “unusual circumstances” is not defined, but impossible is a rather high hurdle to clear so we recommend recording meetings of your legislative bodies if at all possible. Note that only one person must record the remote meeting, and most people have recording capabilities with smart phone devices. These recordings can be easily distributed via email and posted to the municipality’s official website. The recording will be considered a public record. Please contact the State of Vermont Archives and Records Administration (VSARA) for guidance regarding records management.

No. Meetings minutes are still required by the Open Meeting Law. The new recording requirement for meetings of legislative bodies is in addition to the existing minutes requirement, which has not been changed.

The temporary changes to the Open Meeting Law are permissive, not restrictive, so the law does not explicitly prevent members of a public body from physically gathering in the same location to meet. 

If a public body absolutely must meet physically, it can do so while still holding the meeting as a remote only meeting under Act 1 (H.42) 2023. In other words, the meeting would be noticed and otherwise run as a remote meeting from the public’s perspective with the only difference being that the public body would physically gather. Note that those in physical attendance would still have to hear and be heard by all attendees. Alternatively, public bodies may continue to hold hybrid meetings, combining elements of both remote and in-person attendance. For more information, please see our Hybrid Public Meeting Toolkit.

No. You can meet about any business of the public body as you normally would. However, you should be sensitive to the concerns of those who may believe that, just because some of the requirements of the Open Meeting Law are relaxed, public bodies will take advantage and take far reaching action on controversial issues or matters of great importance while the public isn’t looking. In light of those concerns, whether real or perceived, public bodies may want to meet electronically only if absolutely necessary and save those bigger issues for when things return to normal.

Yes. An emergency meeting may be held only when necessary to respond to an unforeseen occurrence or condition requiring immediate attention by the public body. In general, we think that if the public body can wait 24 hours, a special meeting should be noticed. To learn how to notice a special meeting please reference our Quick Guide to the Open Meeting Law.

There is no requirement to have an agenda for an emergency meeting. There is also no specific requirement for noticing an emergency meeting, although some public notice must be given as soon as possible before any such meeting. Minutes must be taken at every public meeting, including an emergency meeting. Minutes must be available for inspection five calendar days after the meeting. In addition, minutes must be posted no later than five calendar days after the meeting to an official website, if one exists, that is maintained or has been designated as the official website of the public body. Except for draft minutes that have been substituted with updated minutes, posted minutes shall not be removed from the website sooner than one year from the date of the meeting for which the minutes were taken.1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2).We encourage you to make the minutes available as soon as possible after a remote meeting, even if they are simply posted to the town’s official website.

No. The law does not allow for voting by email or by proxy (i.e., having another person vote on behalf of the member).

The law does not specify methods for electronic participation of a remote meeting, except to say that it can be through electronic or other means, and that they must allow the public to access and participate in a meeting by telephone. Some electronic meeting software options include Zoom, GoToMeeting, RingCentral, UberConference, Skype, Google Hangouts, FreeConferenceCall.com, and Vast Conference. You should also contact your local telephone service provider to ask about standard conference call options that use just a telephone system.

We encourage public bodies to use various means concurrently, if possible, to ensure members of the public have options. Broadband is not always a reliable option for Vermonters so offering a menu of choices to enable participation in the same meeting, concurrently, is ideal. For instance, you can set up a Zoom or Skype video meeting but also have a speaker phone positioned near someone’s computer to capture audio for a conference call option. Think creatively but be sure to provide clear instructions so everyone has notice of these options and understands how to participate.

Public bodies may cancel meetings/hearings at any time. There are no requirements in the Open Meeting Law for how to give public notice of a meeting/hearing cancellation, but we recommend giving notice via the same method for noticing a meeting/hearing.

Individual members may not merely show up at the municipal office and sign payment orders at their convenience. Doing so would be a violation of the Open Meeting Law, which requires that whenever a majority of the members take an action or make a decision (e.g., sign an order approving payment), they must do so within the context of a duly warned open meeting.

There are two exceptions to the above general rule.

• First, the legislative body can vote at a duly warned legislative body meeting to approve certain payments in advance so that there is no need for members to physically sign orders. Such a vote must identify the person(s) to whom payment is to be made and the purpose(s) for that payment. The treasurer may then use a certified copy of the minutes of the meeting as full authority to make the approved payment.
• The second exception allows the legislative body to authorize one or more members to review and approve orders on behalf of the entire board. A vote to give such authorization must take place at a duly warned legislative body meeting and must be reflected in the meeting minutes. A motion to give such authorization might be phrased as, “I move that we appoint [insert name(s) of legislative body member(s)] to approve and sign orders for [insert types of claims that the person has authorization to approve such as “payroll,” “operating expenses,” etc.] for [insert period of time].” Any orders that are approved under this authority must state definitively the purpose for which they are drawn. The full legislative body must later be provided with a record of all the orders approved.

Relatedly, if there are so many vacancies on the legislative body that a quorum cannot be achieved, the remaining member(s) have the authority to draw orders for payment of continuing obligations and necessary expenses until the vacancies are filled

The law authorizes the chair or vice chair of a public body to sign any decision or order approved for issue which is required by law to be in writing. This law is useful particularly in the context of deliberative sessions that occur after quasi-judicial hearings. For example, a local board of health must give notice and hold a hearing if it is considering issuing a health order. Using this law, the local board of health may deliberate remotely after the hearing and then the chair or vice chair can sign the written decision approved by the board.

Documents may be signed by a quorum of a public body or by an individual member (if authorized by law as described above) or delegated the authority by the public body. Generally, whether electronic signatures can be used in the State of Vermont depends on the circumstances. Under the VT Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, if a law requires a signature, an electronic signature will suffice. An “electronic signature” is defined under the law as “an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.” The full law may be accessed here.

For additional guidance on best practices and answers to frequently asked questions regarding electronic signatures, including their retention, please visit the VT State Archives and Records Division (VSARA) website.