MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – The ACLU of Vermont is suing the Scott administration for allegedly violating the state’s open meeting law and the Public Records Act.
The lawsuit alleges the administration secretly made changes to the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee’s recommendations to the Legislature, removing a suggestion to fund overdose prevention centers.
They want the withheld copies without redactions.
“Although this suit focuses on the recommendation for an overdose prevention site, the principle of the lawsuit is actually much broader, which is that where there are serious decisions that are supposed to be made through public processes, like the committees, these decisions have to be taken in the light of day and not behind closed doors,” said Harrison Stark, a senior ACLU attorney.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Gov. Phil Scott said: “Their case, like the case made relating to the Education Secretary appointment, is unfounded, and it’s unfortunate taxpayer dollars are being further wasted for political purposes when they are already so overburdened by decisions made by the Legislature.”