§ 218. Agency and department records management program
(a) The General Assembly finds that public records are essential to the administration
of State and local government. Public records contain information that allows government
programs to function, provides officials with a basis for making decisions, and ensures
continuity with past operations. Public records document the legal responsibilities
of government, help protect the rights of citizens, and provide citizens a means of
monitoring government programs and measuring the performance of public officials.
Public records provide documentation for the functioning of government and for the
retrospective analysis of the development of Vermont government and the impact of
programs on citizens. Public records in general and archival records in particular
need to be systematically managed to preserve their legal, historic, and informational
value, to provide ready access to vital information, and to promote the efficient
and economical operation of government.
(b) The head of each State agency or department shall establish, maintain, and implement
an active and continuing program approved by the Vermont State Archives and Records
Administration for the effective management, preservation, and disposition of records,
regardless of their physical form or characteristics, for which that head is responsible.
(c) For an agency or department records program to be approved by the Vermont State Archives
and Records Administration, the head of each State agency or department shall:
(1) establish and maintain an accurate inventory of all records;
(2) develop justifiable retention periods for all records;
(3) dispose promptly of those records authorized for destruction by the Vermont State
Archives and Records Administration;
(4) establish and maintain accurate records indicating the identity and quantity of all
records destroyed, the savings in space and equipment, and any money savings resulting
from the disposal of such records;
(5) establish and maintain other records related to management of the agency’s or department’s
records as required by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration;
(6) provide for furnishing to the State Archives, such special reports regarding the records
of the agency or department as the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration
may deem necessary;
(7) process, store, and preserve records kept by the agency or department in an efficient
and economical manner;
(8) where practicable, consolidate or eliminate existing records of the agency or department
and control the creation of new records;
(9) maintain the records of the agency or department in a manner that permits the prompt
and orderly removal of records authorized for destruction; and
(10) implement and sustain a record schedule in accordance with requirements established
by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration under section 117 of this title and the Agency of Digital Services under chapter 56 of this title.
(d) The head of each State agency or department shall designate a member of his or her
staff as the records officer for his or her agency or department, and shall notify
the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration in writing of the name and title
of the person designated, and shall post the name and contact information of the person
on the agency or department website, if one exists.
(e) The Vermont State Archives and Records Administration shall approve all agency record
schedules, as defined by section 117 of this title, unless set forth in a general record schedule issued by the Vermont State Archives
and Records Administration. Authorizations by the Public Records Advisory Board regarding
the disposition of public records shall remain in effect until superseded by a record
schedule issued or approved by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration. (Added 1975, No. 118, § 63, eff. April 30, 1975; amended 1979, No. 56, § 1; 1995, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 4(c)(2), eff. May 6, 1996; 2003, No. 3, § 2; 2007, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2009, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 6, 2010; 2011, No. 59, § 8; 2019, No. 49, § 1, eff. June 10, 2019.)