Coming Legislative Action …
H.48 will come to the floor for action Tuesday. The bill has been developed with input from Vermont municipal leaders who expressed concern that the COVID-19 pandemic may make it unsafe to meet in person for annual Town Meetings in March. Many cities and towns, school districts, and water and sewer boards need to adopt budgets, vote on charter changes, and/or elect board members during the current State of Emergency, but in order to do so need the Legislature to amend annual meeting procedures to allow for increased flexibility.
Article on the topic from Seven Days, Vermont.
The “Town Meeting Bill,” H.48, is considered a high priority for passage in the first weeks of the session as part of the Legislature’s continuing COVID response. The House and Senate Government Operations chairs worked through December and January with the Secretary of State's office, League of Cities and Towns, Municipal Clerks’ and Treasurers’ Association, School Boards and Superintendents Associations, and Legislative Counsel to draft a bill authorizing alternative Town Meeting procedures for 2021. The bill takes into consideration extensive conversations that the Secretary of State’s office has had with VT clerks and selectboards.
H.48 was voted out of House Government Operations on Thursday by an 11-0 vote.
The bill makes the following changes to current law for 2021 only:
● authorizes municipalities to move the date of their 2021 annual Town Meeting
● authorizes municipalities to mail Australian ballots for use in their 2021 annual Town Meeting
● specifies that the terms of elected board members will continue until a successor is chosen (only applies to towns with charters)
● permits the Secretary of State to issue supplemental elections procedures to protect the health and safety of voters, elections workers, and candidates
● allows Brattleboro to hold its representative town meeting virtually and specifies that the NEKWMD may adopt its budget by a vote of its Board of Supervisors for 2021 only instead of requiring an Australian ballot vote of its 48 member towns.