In 1996 Vermont passed legislation that required only "actual costs" be charged for records. A 1998 survey found "that the General Assembly's intent to standardize charges for copies of the public record has largely been achieved. [...] Copying costs are generally lower than before Act 159 but the lower costs apparently have not increased demands for copies. There remain, however, some wide variations in charges for electronic media among municipal agencies."
The law.
The Access to Public Records Law defines a public record as " all papers,
documents, machine readable documents or any other written or recorded matters,
regardless of physical form or characteristics." Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 1,
§ 317(b) (Supp. 1997). It appears to compel agencies to produce copies
if they have "photocopying or other mechanical copying facilities."
However, if an agency has no such facilities, it is not required to make records
available for copying, although it must permit inspection of public records.
§ 316. Standard forms for records include paper printouts of computer records
and for copies in electronic form, the format in which the record is maintained.
If records are maintained in an electronic format, they must be available in
both an electronic and paper form. § 316.
If an agency maintains
public records in an electronic format, the requester may choose to receive
the copies in either electronic format or paper format. 1 V.S.A. § 316(i).
An agency may, but is not required to, convert paper public records to electronic
format. Id.
There is no statutory
authority for the requester to obtain a customized search of computer databases
to fit particular needs.
Another statute
authorizes the state Department of General Services to "maintain and operate
a central computer facility for the state government" and, "as resources
permit and consistent with confidentiality requirements, offer such data to
persons and organizations outside state government." Vt. Stat. Ann. tit.
29 § 1701 (Supp. 1993). A provision limits disclosure of data identifying
individuals. The center's annual plans must include policies and practices relating
to public access, fees and restrictions on use of reproduction of the information.
Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, §§ 121 to 125 (1997).
Cases &
Opinions. The statute permits agencies to allow requesters to make copies
of records on microfilm, but requires only that the agency furnish "copies"
of the requested documents in a format of its choosing. The opinion seems to
say that requests for information on computer tapes can be satisfied by providing
printouts. 87 Vt. Op. Att'y Gen. 20 (1987).
The Vermont Task
Force on Information and Technology issued a report recommending changes in
government information access laws. It recommended that all state and local
government computer records be managed to clearly divide confidential and non-
confidential information, the establishment of a statewide computer network
to share information with the public, and setting up a statewide voter registration
database if privacy protections are adopted. The report recommended developing
a procedure to regularly review the open meeting and public records laws to
bring them up to speed with changes in information technologies. Computer information
should be presumptively open to all citizens and available in computer formats,
which would not be considered as creating a new record. The report recommended
the goal of establishing full Internet access for all Vermont citizens and encouraging
schools and libraries to run low cost training sessions. Using New Information
Technology to Enhance Democracy, Vt. Comm'n on Democracy, Report of the Task
Force on Information & Technology (Jan. 1994).
Fees. Fees for electronic records are assessed in the same manner as fees for paper records: The agency may collect the actual cost of providing the copy, as well as any costs associated with mailing or transmitting the record by facsimile or other electronic means. 1 V.S.A. § 316(b). In addition, the agency may under certain circumstances collect the cost of staff time associated with complying with a request for a public record. 1 V.S.A. § 316(c). The law does not provide for any search fees. If an agency uses its equipment to copy public records, it may not charge more than "the actual cost of providing the copy." "Actual costs" shall reflect the cost of the paper or the electronic media onto which the record is copied, a prorated charge for the maintenance and replacement of the copying equipment and utility costs. If another statute sets a fee for the copy, the agency may charge only that fee. The agency may also charge and collect fees to recover costs associated with the mailing and transmission of the record by facsimile or other means. Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 1, § 316 (1997). An agency may also charge for staff time associated with complying with a request if the task requires more than 30 minutes of staff time, if the agency agrees to create a public record or if the agency agrees to provide the record in a nonstandard format and if complying with the request for a changed format would require more than 30 minutes. A written request and prepayment of fees may also be required. A schedule of public records charges shall be posted in prominent locations in town offices. § 316.
Online. A 1998 report to the General Assembly explained the results of a survey of state agencies after changes to the law to implement that they charge "actual costs" for records. The report also addressed online distribution of information: "The impact of posting records on World Wide Web sites was raised in the surveys. The one state agency that reported experience with such postings noted that on-line access to the records eliminated requests for the documents on disk. Our own experience is that our Web site, posted in April of 1996, made no appreciable difference during its first year, but that a significant number of people found their requests for forms and information satisfied on-line during 1997. This suggests that some of the concerns raised in our survey about the labor costs for providing copies of public records may be reduced as more records become available online."
GIS. A separate law passed in 1994 reauthorized the Vermont Center for Geographic Information, including language applying the public records law to geographic information system data.
The fact that records are maintained in electronic format in no way affects whether the records must be produced under the statute. "Public records" are defined as all papers, documents, machine readable materials or any other written or recorded matters produced or acquired in the course of agency business, "regardless of their physical form or characteristics." 1 V.S.A. § 317(b)