The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 2: Legislature

Chapter 021: Office of Legislative Information Technology

• § 701. Creation and purpose

  The Office of Legislative Information Technology is created as a permanent agency to serve the members and employees of the General Assembly with information technology resources and nonpartisan technology-related services. (Added 2019, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 8.)

• § 702. Director; employees

  (a) The Joint Legislative Management Committee shall employ an individual with experience and expertise in information technology to be the Director of Legislative Information Technology. The Committee may conduct the hiring process itself or it may delegate this duty to a special hiring committee comprising an equal number of members from the House and Senate, not all of whom shall be from the same political party; however, the Joint Legislative Management Committee shall make the final hiring decision.

  (b)(1) The Director shall employ additional information technology staff as needed to carry out the duties of the Office of Legislative Information Technology, except that requests for new, permanent positions shall be subject to the approval of the Joint Legislative Management Committee.

  (2) All individuals employed by the Office of Legislative Information Technology shall be subject to the personnel policies adopted by the Joint Legislative Management Committee.

  (3) The provisions of 3 V.S.A. chapter 13 (classification of State personnel) shall not apply to employees of the Office of Legislative Information Technology unless this exception is partially or wholly waived by the Joint Legislative Management Committee. (Added 2019, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 8.)

• § 703. Functions; confidentiality

  (a) The Office of Legislative Information Technology shall:

  (1) design, support, and maintain the General Assembly’s information systems;

  (2) provide hardware, software, and customer support to members and employees of the General Assembly to enable them to fulfill their professional responsibilities; and

  (3) ensure that legislative records created, received, stored, or transmitted using information technology are maintained in accordance with the General Assembly’s recordkeeping requirements.

  (b) Any draft of a report or other work in progress generated by or submitted to the Office of Legislative Information Technology shall remain confidential until it has been finalized. (Added 2019, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; amended 2023, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § E.126.1, eff. July 1, 2024.)

• § 704. Strategic plan for legislative information technology

  (a) The Director of Legislative Information Technology shall prepare, maintain, and update, at least biennially, a long-range strategic plan for information technology operations and services in the Legislative Branch.

  (b) In preparing the plan, the Director or designee shall consult with members of the Joint Information Technology Oversight Committee, other members of the General Assembly, and employees of other legislative staff offices. In addition, the Director or designee may also consult with the State Archivist, representatives of the Executive and Judicial Branches, and members of the public.

  (c) The strategic plan shall be subject to review and approval by the Joint Legislative Management Committee. (Added 2019, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 8.)

• § 705. Contracts for internet service

  Every contract for broadband internet access service, as defined in 3 V.S.A. § 348(d)(1), for the Legislative Branch shall include terms and conditions requiring that the internet service provider certify that it is in compliance with the consumer protection and net neutrality standards established in 3 V.S.A. § 348. (Added 2017, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; amended 2019, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 11(d) (redesignated from 2 V.S.A. § 754).)

• § 706. Budget

  The Director of Legislative Information Technology shall propose a budget for the Office of Legislative Information Technology to the Joint Legislative Management Committee. (Added 2019, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 8.)