Vermont Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Vermont, with full citations and the original source on every page.
Did Vermont Governor Phil Scott's Executive Order 06-25 (which addresses housing construction by relaxing wetland permits and letting builders use older energy standards) effectively repeal or modify the wetlands and energy statutes the legislature enacted?
Partly. The Order is lawful to the extent it directs agencies to begin rulemaking. It exceeds the Governor's authority to the extent it tries to immediately change wetlands or building energy law with…
When 56 voters in Vermont's Bennington-1 House District received the wrong ballot in November 2024 (because of voter checklist errors after reapportionment) and the certified margin of victory was only 23 votes, what should the Vermont House of Representatives do under its constitutional power to judge the elections of its own members?
The AG's role under 17 V.S.A. § 2605(b)(1) is to investigate and report facts to the House Clerk, not to decide the election. The AG concluded that 56 registered voters in the Bennington-1 District re…
After Vermont consolidated school districts under Act 46 in 2015 and the State Board of Education involuntarily merged some districts that voted not to merge, can the towns in those involuntarily-merged districts now use 16 V.S.A. § 724 to vote to withdraw from the merger?
Probably not. Section 724 lets a town vote to withdraw from a unified union school district 'that voted to form' the district. The plain language requires a prior vote to form. Towns that were involun…
When Vermont's 2014 Act 90 repealed the old campaign finance contribution limits with one effective date and added new limits with a different effective date in 2015, what limits applied during the gap?
The pre-Act 90 limits applied through December 31, 2014. The repeal-versus-replacement effective dates created a literal gap (no limits) that the legislature did not intend. Drafting records and commi…
After Vermont voters amended the state constitution to let people who turn 18 by general election day vote in 'the primary election,' does that include both the presidential primary in March and the state primary in August?
Yes. Although the constitutional language uses the singular 'the primary election,' both the presidential primary and the state primary are nominating processes preceding the general election. The Ver…
Can members of the Vermont State Teachers' Retirement Board be personally sued and held financially liable for ordinary mistakes in their investment or benefit decisions?
No, not for ordinary negligence. Vermont treats retirement board members as state employees under 3 V.S.A. § 1101 and 12 V.S.A. § 5602: the state defends them at state expense, and lawsuits for ordina…
Did Vermont's industrial hemp bill, H. 267, become law when the Governor took no action on it after the legislature had already adjourned?
Yes, it more likely than not became law. Under Vt. Const. ch. II § 11, a bill becomes law if the Governor neither signs nor returns it within five days after presentation. The narrow adjournment excep…
Could Vermont's nineteenth-century abortion statute, 13 V.S.A. § 101, be applied to physician assistants and advanced practice nurses, or only to people without medical training?
The statute did not apply to licensed physicians, osteopaths, physician assistants, or advanced practice nurses if the procedure was within their approved scope of practice. It could be applied to peo…
After Entergy bought Vermont Yankee in 2002, did Entergy keep the company-specific exemption that let Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. store spent fuel on site without legislative approval?
No. AG Sorrell's office concluded that the exemption in 10 V.S.A. § 6505 was tied to Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation specifically, not to the site or facility, and was not assignable to Enter…
Could the Vermont legislature adopt instant runoff voting for governor and other statewide offices by ordinary statute, or did it need a constitutional amendment first?
AG Sorrell concluded that voter approval of a constitutional amendment was legally required before instant runoff voting could be applied to elections for governor, lieutenant governor, and treasurer,…
Did Vermont's banking commissioner have authority to issue rules requiring opt-in consent before banks, insurers, and securities firms shared customer financial or health information, and could she go beyond Gramm-Leach-Bliley's federal opt-out floor?
Yes on both counts. The commissioner's general rulemaking authority under 8 V.S.A. §§ 10 and 15(a), plus specific grants in Title 8 and the Securities Act, supported all three rules. GLB § 507 express…
When a Vermont sheriff's department is sued and the county-purchased liability policy has a $10,000 deductible, who pays the deductible?
The county. 24 V.S.A. § 73 obligated the county to provide liability insurance for the sheriff and deputies, and the AG concluded that the deductible was an operating cost of the sheriff's department …
After Vermont passed its 2000 fingerprinting law, did liquor control investigators still get access to Criminal Information Center records, or were they suddenly cut off because their division didn't spend half its budget on criminal justice?
Yes, they still got access. AG Sorrell's office concluded that the new statute's term 'criminal justice agency' should not be read so literally as to cut off police agencies that the legislature had l…
Could a Vermont sheriff charge a service-of-process fee for finding the right address or otherwise locating someone, even if no service was actually made?
No. The fees in 32 V.S.A. § 1591(1) were payable only on presentation of a return of service. The activity that triggered the flat fee was the actual service of process, not the preparatory work of lo…
Could a Vermont town clerk lawfully refuse to issue civil union licenses, and what penalties applied if she did?
No. Under Act 91 § 5 the town clerk had a mandatory duty to issue civil union licenses to any qualified applicant. Refusal exposed the clerk and the town to a Rule 75 court order compelling issuance, …
Can the Vermont State House restrict the display of a publication with sexually explicit cartoons in its public cafeteria?
The State House cafeteria was a designated public forum, so any restriction on speech had to be narrowly drawn. Vermont could limit minors' access to material depicting intimate sexual activity, but a…
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Attorney general opinions in Vermont are written by the Vermont Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.