The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 5 : Aeronautics and Surface Transportation Generally

Chapter 062 : Powers and Duties of Board Relating to Railroads

• § 3452. Disclosure of information

  (a) When requested to do so by the Board or the Agency, a railroad operating in this State shall furnish the Board or Agency any information specifically requested concerning the management of the railroad and the condition of its equipment and facilities, provided that the request shall extend only to information reasonably related to the railroad’s operations in this State and provided further that the Board and the Agency shall have no right to request information regarding salaries, pensions, options, or benefit programs or the expenses of officers or directors of railroads incorporated outside the United States.

  (b) Any information provided by a railroad to the Board or Agency on the following subjects, whether pursuant to this section or otherwise, shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed by the Board or the Agency except as provided in subsection (c) of this section:

  (1) customer data;

  (2) compensation and benefits for a railroad’s directors, officers, and employees;

  (3) contracts, financial obligations, and financial standing; and

  (4) proprietary data known only to certain individuals within a railroad’s organization and that give the railroad the opportunity to obtain business advantage over competitors who do not know it.

  (c) Confidential information may be made public by the Board or the Agency only if the Board first determines that the public good requires disclosure and that the disclosure will not violate State or federal law. The Board shall give the railroad written notice and shall afford the railroad an opportunity to be heard prior to making any determination that disclosure should be made and shall make written findings of fact upon which its determination is made.

  (d) Nothing contained in this title or in any provision of Title 19 shall be construed to require a railroad to produce an investigatory report or other information that was prepared by a railroad, its agents, or its employees at the request or direction of a railroad’s attorney, nor shall anything contained in this title or any provision of Title 19 be construed to abrogate the attorney-client privilege as is otherwise provided by law. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1961, No. 183, § 6; 1993, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 40.)