Vermont Requires State Office to Create Confidential Veterans Database

Original title: An act relating to the creation and maintenance of a database of veterans in Vermont

Last action · January 24, 2025: Read first time and referred to the Committee on Government Operations and Military AffairsSponsors: Robert Hooper and 25 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Would Do

The Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs is required to develop and maintain a comprehensive database of veterans in the state, with all collected explicitly exempted from public inspection starting July 1, 2025.

Why it matters

Vermont veterans face a change in how their records are shared among state entities, as all state agencies and departments must supply veteran data to a central registry while having their personal details legally shielded from public records requests.

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Vermont veterans

Veterans have their records compiled into a centralized state database while their personally identifying information is legally shielded from public inspection.

Directly affected

Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs

The office is tasked with coordinating, developing, and maintaining the new central database of veterans.

Directly affected

State agencies, offices, and departments

All state agencies must provide information on veterans to the Director of the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs to the maximum extent practicable.

Key Facts

The Director of the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs must develop and maintain a database of veterans in Vermont.
All state agencies, offices, and departments must provide information on veterans to the Director to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with State and federal law.
Personally identifying information about veterans collected for the database is exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act and must be kept confidential.
The Public Records Act exemption created by this act continues in effect and is exempt from standard repeal operations under 1 V.S.A. § 317(e).

Show all 5 facts

The act takes effect on July 1, 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my personal information as a veteran be made public in this database?

No. Any about veterans collected for the database is explicitly exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act and must be kept confidential.

Which state entities are required to contribute data to the database?

All state agencies, offices, and departments must, to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with state and federal law, provide information on veterans to the Director of the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Follow the record

Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Procedural history

1 action

Jan 24, 2025HouseIntroduced
Read first time and referred to the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →