Gov. Peter Shumlin, Speaker Shap Smith, Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell and Lawmakers Unveil Government Transparency Plan

Press Release

Gov. Peter Shumlin and key lawmakers today unveiled a comprehensive plan, involving both the executive branch and the Vermont Legislature, to ensure that access to government documents remains open and available to the public.

Among the significant provisions, the legislation would give the public records law more "teeth' by designating a state office to enforce the law, and make it easier for those wrongly denied public records to recover attorney fees if they have to go to court to get access.

Government transparency has been a priority issue for the Governor on the campaign, and even during his tenure in the state Senate. Gov. Shumlin has been working with lawmakers in recent days to find ways to strengthen the public records law and improve public agency compliance with those laws.

"I have been consistently clear in my strong support of transparency in government," the Governor said. "Every legitimate request by the public for information should be met in a timely, open manner."

Gov. Shumlin appeared with Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell and House Speaker Shap Smith, as well as several other lawmakers key to this work, at a Statehouse news event.

"At the core of Vermont democracy is our honest, accessible, and transparent government," said Speaker Smith. "State government is at its best when Vermonters are engaged participants and partners in the process. Today we renew that commitment."

The plan includes two parts. The first, an executive branch change, requires awareness throughout state government of the need to provide public information and training on how to comply with the open records law.

"The single biggest complaint we've heard is not that the law as written doesn't go far enough," the Governor said. "It's that in some cases state employees have not complied with the spirit or letter of the law as written, often due to inadequate training."

Within the next week, Gov. Shumlin will be reviewing the public records law and providing instructions to ensure compliance by his full cabinet. Within the next two months, the Governor's office will hold training for all public records officers across state government. And within five months, records officers must ensure they have followed up with their in-office trainings.

The Shumlin administration, working with other offices, will also take additional steps to improve and speed the public records process.

Secondly, the administration has been working with lawmakers to develop a public records bill to ensure the state follows the letter of the law in providing public information. One of the key provisions of the legislation would designate a state office that has the authority to review disputes about public records requests and to issue binding orders.

In addition, the legislation would:

* Bring together stakeholders from across the spectrum to engage in a serious, individualized review of the more than 200 exemptions built into our public records law.

* Eliminate search time fees, whether requests for copies or inspection, for all requests that take no more than two hours to compile, while keeping those fees for the most onerous requests for copies or inspection--about 2 percent of all requests.

* Make it clear that when the state denies a request for a public record, the burden is on the state to show that the denial is warranted.

* Provide that if a public agency appeals an order, the person who requested the records is presumed to be entitled to attorney's fees if he or she goes to court and wins.

"The combination of administration training and legislative changes should ensure that almost all requests for state documents are handled promptly and at no charge to the public, other than the cost of state-worker time," Gov. Shumlin said. "And the very small number of requests that could cost taxpayers inordinate sums will be handled in a different -- but fair -- manner."

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