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House Government Operations & Military Affairs committee reviews charter amendment to add recall procedures for a small town
Summary
The committee heard H.953, a bill to add a recall procedure to a town charter. Counsel read new Section 5 (15% petition threshold, timing rules, Australian ballot, and removal thresholds); the town clerk described a contested petition, turnout figures and a 56-39 local vote.
The House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee on the floor considered H.953, a bill that would amend a small town's charter to add a formal recall procedure for elected town officers. Representative Matt Byron, the bill's lead sponsor and the committee chair, introduced the measure and said he was "the lead sponsor and primary shepherd of this charter amendment proposal."
Legislative counsel Tim Devlin read the bill as introduced, saying it would add a new Section 5, "recall of elected town officers," to the town's charter. Devlin told the committee that the voters in the town approved the charter proposals on May 15 and that Section 5 prescribes petition and voting mechanics. "A written petition signed by not less than 15% of the registered voters of the town seeking the removal of a town officer and requesting a vote'" would trigger either placement of the question on the next regular town meeting warning or require the select board to call a special town meeting to vote on removal within 45 days, Devlin said. The bill requires the recall vote to be held by Australian ballot and states that removal occurs if a majority of votes cast favor removal and that, in addition, the affirmative votes must equal at least the number who elected the officer in the most recent election or at least one-third of registered town voters, whichever is fewer. Devlin also read a provision that a recall petition may not be brought against the same individual more than once within any 12-month period.
Committee members sought clarifications about statutory context and timing. Rep. Pinsonal asked whether there is a statewide recall procedure for town officials; Devlin replied there is no general statewide recall power and that only some municipalities and special districts currently include recall provisions in their charters or governing documents. Members also asked when the town vote took place; several speakers referenced May 15 and there was some verbal confusion in the record about whether related events occurred in 2024 or 2025.
Kyle Rao, who identified himself as the town clerk and treasurer, testified about the local history that led to the charter question. Rao said the town (the transcript uses several variants of its name) has "597 registered voters." He described political conflict in 2024 tied to a reappraisal and the proposal of a large solar field that prompted a resident to deliver a petition to amend the charter to allow recall. Rao said the original petition failed to comply with statutory warning requirements and had to be withdrawn; the select board then placed a revised version of the charter question, including what appears in the bill as an additional Section 4, on a special town meeting ballot. Rao gave turnout numbers to illustrate local participation: about 170 voters (roughly 28% of registered voters) at a regular town meeting and 103 voters (about 17%) at the later special meeting. "The charter question passed 56 votes to 39," Rao said, and he characterized the turnout numbers as a reason the select board sought the additional safeguards in the revised charter language.
Rao urged the committee to consider statutory clarification of the "additive" charter-amendment warning process, saying it is confusing to residents and that he had discussed language with Garrett Baxter from VLCT. Committee members encouraged coordination with VLCT and suggested staff or counsel may revisit the warning process in a future bill cycle. A resident who asked whether the petition targeted the town clerk was told by Rao that the petition sought changes addressing the select board, not his appointed clerk'treasurer position.
The committee did not take a formal vote on H.953 during the session recorded in the transcript; members closed the hearing after questioning and testimony and thanked the witnesses. The committee materials and the charter package on the committee SharePoint were noted as sources for the complete text and the town vote records.
