Public Records Request System

Pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 318a, which was added into law by Act 166 of 2018 and went into effect on July 1, 2018, the Secretary of Administration is required to maintain and update the Public Records Request System established pursuant to 2006 Acts and Resolves No. 132, Sec. 3 and 2011 Acts and Resolves No. 59, Sec. 13 with the information furnished under 1 V.S.A. § 318a(b) and post System information on the website of the Agency of Administration.

Please contact the Agency of Administration with questions.

Legislative History of the Public Records Request System:

Sec. 3 of No. 132 of the Acts of the 2005 Adj. Sess. (2006) required the Secretary of Administration to submit an annual report that included a list of the written public records requests received for the prior calendar year for each state agency; the number of records delivered or withheld by each state agency; the number of records that could not be located by each state agency; and the agency time needed to respond to each request.

Sec. 13 of No. 59 of the Acts of 2011, entitled State Agency Public Records Request System, expanded this requirement:

“(a) Beginning July 1, 2011, all state agencies that receive a request to inspect or copy a public record shall catalogue the request in the public records request system that the secretary of administration established in response to the requirements of Sec. 3 of No. 132 of the Acts of the 2005 Adj. Sess. (2006).

“(b) The secretary of administration shall revise and update the Public Records Request System so that it includes: the date a public records request is received; the state agency that received the request; the organization or individual that made the request, including a contact name; the status of the request, including whether the request was fulfilled in whole, fulfilled in part, or denied; if the request was fulfilled in part or denied, the exemption or other grounds asserted as the basis for partial fulfillment or denial; the estimated hours necessary to respond to the request; the date the state agency closed the request; and the elapsed time between receipt of the request and the date the agency closed the request.

“(c) On or before January 15, 2012, and annually thereafter, the secretary of administration shall submit to the senate and house committees on government operations a copy of the records requests catalogued in the public records request system in the preceding calendar year.”

The Secretary of Administration's annual report to the legislature, in relation to both Act No. 132 of 2006 and Act No. 59 of 2011, was repealed by Act No. 142 of 2014. Acts and Resolves No. 59 (State agency public request system) was repealed by Act No. 166 of 2018.