Journalists warn against Public Records Act changes that would extend response times and add fees
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Summary
Reporters and journalism groups told the House committee Feb. 3 that proposed Public Records Act changes from VLCT would slow response times (from 3 to 14 business days), create potential up‑front fees and deter timely reporting; they urged legislators to demand data before changing law.
Journalists and media groups told the House Government Operations & Military Affairs committee on Feb. 3 they oppose proposed changes to the Public Records Act that would extend response times and allow new fees or deposits. Lisa Lewis, co‑owner and editor of The Valley Reporter and president of the Vermont Press Association, urged lawmakers to reject a proposed change that would move the statutory response deadline from three business days to 14.
"Shifting the response time to 14 days is absurd and flies in the face of good, open, responsive government," Lewis said, arguing that a two‑week delay can make records effectively unusable for timely public hearings or news reports. Lewis asked the committee to seek quantitative data from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) demonstrating an exponential increase in municipal records requests before making broad statutory changes.
Bridget Higdon, vice president of the Vermont Journalism Coalition and publisher of several Vermont papers, said VLCT's proposals would "effectively create financial barriers to accessing public records" and disproportionately harm small newsrooms and ordinary citizens. Higdon and Lewis urged lawmakers to require data collection on the number and types of records requests and the time required to respond before changing the law.
Committee members said they were fact‑finding and weighing concerns about "vexatious" requests raised by municipal officials against preserving timely public access. No committee action or vote on statutory language was taken at the hearing; members asked for more data and stakeholder input before proceeding.
