On January 25, 2023, Governor Scott signed Act 1 (H.42) 2023 into law to address the ongoing health concerns posed by COVID-19. The Act extends the temporary Open Meeting Law procedures that have been in place since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic until July 1, 2024. Among the temporary allowances is that municipal public bodies can continue to hold completely remote meetings through electronic participation only, without designating a physical meeting location, and electronic posting for agendas and special meeting notices. Please be aware that, while most of the conditions for meeting remotely are the same, the allowance for posting minutes 10 calendar days from the date of the meeting was not extended in this bill.
This toolkit provides guidance to public bodies that wish to hold entirely remote public meetings while the Act is in effect.
Note that this Act does not impact informational hearings that are held for Australian ballot voting, please consult our Remote Informational Hearing Toolkit.
If you have additional questions about Vermont's Open Meeting Law requirements, please view our Open Meeting Law COVID-19 FAQs or contact the VLCT member Municipal Inquiry Service at info@vlct.org or call 1-800-649-7915 for assistance.
