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Legislative committee hears municipal push to ease record-request burdens, considers 'vexatious requester' remedy
Summary
Municipal officials and a National Conference of State Legislatures expert told a legislative committee that Vermont towns face high costs complying with voluminous public-records requests and urged changes including a 14-day initial response window, clearer appeals, fee/deposit authority and an optional court route to block vexatious requests.
Municipal officials and a national policy expert told a legislative committee on Jan. 8 that Vermont towns are struggling to comply with modern public-records requests and urged targeted statutory fixes to reduce legal costs and staff burdens while preserving public access.
Samantha Sheehan, municipal policy and advocacy specialist for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, told the committee the League’s members regularly face voluminous requests that require attorney review and lengthy redaction. "Currently, there's 3 business days to respond to initial request. We recommend moving that to 14," Sheehan said, arguing a longer initial-response window would reflect current workloads and electronic records practices.
Sheehan told lawmakers that towns without in-house counsel often hire outside attorneys to review records for allowable redactions — including deliberative material…
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