Municipal officials ask Legislature to clarify law to remove disruptive attendees from public meetings

Montpelier — Municipal officials from Fairhaven and Albert told the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee on May 13 that repeated disruptive attendees are preventing town business and asked lawmakers to add a disorderly-conduct standard to S.59 so law enforcement and prosecutors have clearer grounds to remove or cite people who substantially impair meetings.

The request grew from municipal testimony that disruptive attendees repeatedly interrupt meetings, distribute paperwork, post video and social-media material and threaten litigation. Those behaviors, officials said, are deterring residents from participating and consuming staff time and legal resources. "These disruptions ... are not rooted in disagreement. This isn't about policy," Fairhaven Town Manager Joe Gunter told the committee.

Fairhaven Select Board Chair Glenn Travers described recurring, organized disruptions, saying the board sometimes has had to recess meetings to remove…