# Vermont S.59: An act relating to amendments to Vermont’s Open Meeting Law Vermont S.59, An act relating to amendments to Vermont’s Open Meeting Law, is a 2025-2026 Session Senate bill sponsored by Ruth E Hardy (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-06-13 (Senate Message: Signed by Governor June 9, 2025) (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S59-2026 - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Vermont S.59 - State: Vermont - Session: 2025-2026 Session - Title: An act relating to amendments to Vermont’s Open Meeting Law - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-02-11 - Last action: 2025-06-13, Senate Message: Signed by Governor June 9, 2025 - Sponsor: Ruth E Hardy (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: no - Economic provisions PRIA read: 7 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Clearer meeting notices for Vermont residents: benefit, low. Beginning June 9, 2025, meeting notices and agendas must be posted at least 48 hours before regular meetings and 24 hours before special meetings. Municipal agendas and special-meeting notices must appear in or near the municipal office and at least two designated public places, including neighbori… - Public votes govern Vermont private sessions: benefit, low. Beginning June 9, 2025, State public bodies need two-thirds of members present to hold or end an executive session. Municipal and other local bodies need a majority of members present. The vote to enter must happen publicly and appear in the minutes; the motion must identify the business discussed.… - Yearly meeting training for Vermont officials: benefit, low. Beginning June 9, 2025, specified Vermont officials must take yearly training on Open Meeting Law procedures and requirements. This includes local public-body chairs, town managers, mayors, and State public-body chairs outside advisory bodies. State advisory-body members must also train when every… - Clearer limits on public meeting disruptions: mixed, low. Beginning June 9, 2025, Vermont’s disorderly-conduct law expressly covers disruptions of lawful gatherings, including public-body meetings. The conduct must substantially impair the gathering, such as forcing an early end or making numerous, sustained disruptions after requests to stop. It must lac… - Government hardship can limit meeting duties: mixed, low. Beginning June 9, 2025, Vermont defines “undue hardship” when deciding which steps are required to follow the Open Meeting Law. A step must cause significant difficulty or expense to the government unit. The review considers its size, available staff, resources, and compliance costs. This standard… - More private discussions for Vermont bodies: mixed, low. Beginning June 9, 2025, Vermont public bodies can privately discuss security, cybersecurity, or emergency-response measures when disclosure could threaten public safety. A State public body can also privately discuss confidential business information about interest rates on publicly financed loans.… - More public meeting access, with exceptions: mixed, low. Beginning June 9, 2025, Vermont State bodies, except advisory bodies, must offer regular and special meetings in person and electronically, including by phone. They must make audiovisual recordings and retain and post them for at least 30 days after official minutes are approved and posted. Local b… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Ruth E Hardy (Democratic), Senate ## Actions (36) - 2025-06-13: Senate Message: Signed by Governor June 9, 2025 (Senate) - 2025-06-11: Signed by Governor on June 9, 2025 (Senate) - 2025-06-03: Delivered to Governor on June 3, 2025 (Senate) - 2025-05-28: Senate Message: House proposal of amendment concurred in (Senate) - 2025-05-27: Rules suspended & messaged to House forthwith, on motion of Senator Baruth (Senate) - 2025-05-27: As passed by Senate and House (Senate) - 2025-05-27: House proposal of amendment concurred in (Senate) - 2025-05-27: House proposal of amendment; text (Senate) - 2025-05-27: New Business/House Proposal of Amendment (Senate) - 2025-05-23: House proposal of amendment (Senate) - 2025-05-23: Entered on Notice Calendar (Senate) - 2025-05-22: House message: House passed bill in concurrence with proposal(s) of amendment (House) - 2025-05-21: Read third time and passed in concurrence with proposal of amendment (House) - 2025-05-21: Action Calendar: Third Reading (House) - 2025-05-20: Third Reading ordered (House) - 2025-05-20: Report of Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs agreed to (House) - 2025-05-20: Rep. Waters Evans of Charlotte reported for the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs (House) - 2025-05-20: Read second time (House) - 2025-05-20: Action Calendar: Unfinished Business (House) - 2025-05-19: Action Calendar: Favorable with Amendment (House) - 2025-05-16: Notice Calendar: Favorable with Amendment (House) - 2025-03-25: Read first time and referred to the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs (House) - 2025-03-20: Read 3rd time & passed (Senate) - 2025-03-20: Pending third reading, bill amended as moved by Senator(s) Hart, Collamore, Vyhovsky, and White (Senate) - 2025-03-20: New Business/Third Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-19: 3rd reading ordered (Senate) - 2025-03-19: Recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations agreed to (Senate) - 2025-03-19: Read 2nd time, reported favorably with recommendation of amendment by Senator Hart for Committee on Government Operations (Senate) - 2025-03-19: Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations (Senate) - 2025-03-19: Unfinished Business/Second Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-18: Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations (Senate) - 2025-03-18: New Business/Second Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-14: Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Government Operations (Senate) - 2025-03-14: Second Reading (Senate) - 2025-03-14: Entered on Notice Calendar (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Government Operations (Senate) ## Bill text - As Enacted (ACT 51)Opens in a new window, 2025-06-12: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT051/ACT051%20As%20Enacted.pdf) - As Passed by Both Chambers, 2025-05-30: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf) - As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial), 2025-05-30: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf) - House Proposal of Amendment, 2025-05-23: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 House proposal of amendment Official.pdf) - House Proposal of Amendment (Unofficial), 2025-05-23: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 House Proposal of Amendment Unofficial.pdf) - As Passed by the Senate, 2025-03-21: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 As passed by the Senate Official.pdf) - As Passed by the Senate (Unofficial), 2025-03-21: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 As Passed by the Senate Unofficial.pdf) - As Introduced, 2025-02-10: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 As Introduced.pdf) ## Related bills - H.955: An act relating to next steps in transforming Vermont’s education system (signed) - H.951: An act relating to making appropriations for the support of the government (signed) - H.957: An act relating to approval of amendments to the charter of the Town of Williston (signed) - H.952: An act relating to capital construction and State bonding budget adjustment (signed) - H.921: An act relating to alcoholic beverages (signed) - H.915: An act relating to establishing an extended producer responsibility program for beverage containers (signed) ## Sources - [As Enacted (ACT 51)Opens in a new window (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT051/ACT051%20As%20Enacted.pdf) - [As Passed by Both Chambers (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf) - [As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf) - [House Proposal of Amendment (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 House proposal of amendment Official.pdf) - [House Proposal of Amendment (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 House Proposal of Amendment Unofficial.pdf) - [As Passed by the Senate (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 As passed by the Senate Official.pdf) - [As Passed by the Senate (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 As Passed by the Senate Unofficial.pdf) - [As Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0059/S-0059 As Introduced.pdf) ## Related - [H.955: An act relating to next steps in transforming Vermont’s education system](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H955-2026) - [H.951: An act relating to making appropriations for the support of the government](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H951-2026) - [H.957: An act relating to approval of amendments to the charter of the Town of Willist…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H957-2026) - [H.952: An act relating to capital construction and State bonding budget adjustment](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H952-2026) - [H.921: An act relating to alcoholic beverages](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H921-2026) - [H.915: An act relating to establishing an extended producer responsibility program for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H915-2026) - [Vermont bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/vermont/bills) - [Vermont state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/vermont) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S59-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).