—–Original Message—–
From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Saturday, February 12, 2000 3:03 AM
Subject: Fwd: S.316 Kiss YOUR Preemption Statute Goodbye

Folks:

I just got this hot off the legislative web site and with this bill would
allow every municipality with a charter to ban gun rights, trapping,
reloading and hunting. This has the potential to kill our preemption
statute, we will have votes on anti-hunting and anti-gun activities on
ballots all over the state. Notice this came out of Bill Doyle’s Gov.
Operations Committee with no individual sponsors on the bill. You can E-mail
Senator Doyle at [email protected]

What do you think this will do to our preemption statute? Every municipality
be able to amend their charter so as to be exempt from the preemption
statute, 24 V.S.A. Section 2295? If you want to review the bill in the
strike all form I have provided same as an attachment. If your town does not
have a charter now, and they want to enact gun legislation, look for them to
move to get one so that the avoid the preemption statute.

These are the members of the Senate Government Operations Committee, which
has just declared war on the Sportsmen’s Bill of Rights! Senator Bill Doyle
has spit in the face of the sportsmen of this entire state.

You can call the State House and leave a message with the Sgt-at-Arms for
these
Senators or your own county senators 1-800-322-5616 or you can call them at
home.

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
Doyle of Washington County, Chair (R) Home Phone 223-2851
Ankeney of Chittenden County, Vice-Chair (D) Home Phone 482-3178
Kittell of Franklin County (D) Home Phone
827-3274
Brownell of Chittenden County (R) Home Phone 434-3923
Maynard of Rutland County (R) Home Phone 773-3000
Morrissey of Bennington County, Clerk (R) Home Phone 447-2674

S.316
Introduced by Committee on Government Operations
Date:
Subject: Municipal government; charter amendments
Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to grant municipalities the
authority to amend their charters, unless the attorney general or six members
of the senate or 30 members of the house request legislative review, or the
change proposes a local tax, adoption of a new charter or repeal of an
existing charter; in which case, the proposed change must be approved by the
general assembly.
AN ACT RELATING TO MUNICIPAL CHARTER CHANGES
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. 17 V.S.A. ? 2645 is amended to read:
? 2645. CHARTERS*[,]* ; ADOPTION, REPEAL OR AMENDMENT*[,]* ;
PROCEDURE
(a) A municipality may *[propose to the general assembly to]* amend or
repeal its charter or adopt a new charter by majority vote of the legal
voters of the municipality present and voting at any annual or special
meeting warned for that purpose in accordance with the following procedure:
(1) A proposal to adopt, repeal or amend a municipal charter may be made by
the legislative body of the municipality or by petition of five percent of
the voters of the municipality.
(2) An official copy of the *[proposed]* charter *[amendments]* proposals
shall be filed as a public record in the office of the clerk of the
municipality at least ten days before the first public hearing and copies
thereof shall be made available to members of the public upon request.
(3) The legislative body of the municipality shall hold at least two public
hearings prior to the vote on the *[proposed]* charter *[amendments]*
proposals. The first public hearing shall be held at least 30 days before the
annual or special meeting.
(4) If the charter proposals *[to amend the charter]* are made by the
legislative body, the legislative body may revise the *[amendments]*
proposals as a result of suggestions and recommendations made at a public
hearing, but in no event shall such revisions be made less than 20 days
before the date of the meeting. If revisions are made, the legislative body
shall post a notice of these revisions in the same places as the warning for
the meeting not less than 20 days before the date of the meeting and shall
attach such revisions to the official copy kept on file for public inspection
in the office of the clerk of the municipality.
(5) If the charter proposals *[to amend the charter]* are made by petition,
the second public hearing shall be held no later than ten days after the
first public hearing. The legislative body shall not have the authority to
revise charter proposals *[to amend the charter]* made by petition. After the
warning and hearing requirements of this section are satisfied, proposals by
petition shall be submitted to the voters at the next annual meeting, primary
or general election in the form in which they were filed, except that the
legislative body may make technical corrections.
(6) Notice of the public hearings and of the annual or special meeting shall
be given in the same way and time as for annual meetings of the municipality.
Such notice shall specify the sections to be amended, repealed, or adopted,
setting out sections *[to be amended in the amended]* in the proposed form,
with deleted matter in brackets and new matter underlined or in italics. If
the legislative body of the municipality determines that the *[proposed]*
charter *[amendments]* proposals are too long or unwieldy to set out in
*[amended]* proposed form, the notice shall include a concise summary of the
*[proposed]* charter *[amendments]* proposals and shall state that an
official copy of the *[proposed]* charter *[amendments]* proposals is on file
for public inspection in the office of the clerk of the municipality and that
copies thereof shall be made available to members of the public upon request.
(7) Voting on charter *[amendments]* proposals shall be by Australian
ballot. The ballot shall show each section to be amended, repealed or adopted
in *[the amended]* proposed form, with deleted matter in brackets and new
matter underlined or in italics and shall permit the voter to vote on each
proposal of amendment, repeal or adoption separately. If the legislative body
determines that the *[proposed]* charter *[amendments]* proposals are too
long or unwieldy to be shown in the *[amended]* proposed form, an official
copy of the *[proposed]* charter *[amendments]* proposals shall be maintained
conspicuously in each ballot booth for inspection by the voters during the
balloting and voters shall be permitted to vote upon the charter
*[amendments]* proposals in their entirety in the form of a yes or no
proposition.
(b) The clerk of the municipality, under the direction of the legislative
body, shall announce and post the results of the vote immediately after the
vote is counted. The clerk, within 10 days after the day of the election,
shall certify to the secretary of state each charter proposal *[of
amendment]*, showing the facts as to its origin and the procedure followed.
(c) The secretary of state shall file the certificate and deliver copies of
it to the attorney general *[and]*, clerk of the house of representatives*[,
the]* and secretary of the senate *[and the chairman of the committees
concerned with municipal charters of both houses of the general assembly]*,
within five days if it is then in session and, if not in session, within five
days of the start of the following session.
(d) The clerk of the house of representatives and the secretary of the
senate shall publish the charter proposals prominently in the respective
calendars for 15 consecutive legislative days, beginning on the next
legislative day following their receipt. If the general assembly adjourns
before the expiration of 15 consecutive legislative days, the secretary and
clerk shall publish the charter proposals for 15 consecutive legislative days
beginning on the second legislative day of the following session.
*[(d)]*(e) The *[amendment]* charter proposals shall become effective *[upon
affirmative enactment of the proposal, either as proposed or as amended by
the general assembly. A proposal for a charter amendment may be enacted by
reference to the amendment as approved by the voters of the municipality]*
following the fifteenth day of publication as described in subsection (d) of
this section, provided no petition for legislative review has been filed
under subsection (f) of this section.
(f) A petition for legislative review:
(1) may be filed by the attorney general with the clerk of the house of
representatives;
(2) shall be filed by the attorney general with the clerk of the house of
representatives, if the charter proposals involve:
(A) the imposition of a new local tax;
(B) the adoption of a new charter; or
(C) the repeal of a charter;
(3) may be filed by not less than six members of the senate with the
secretary of the senate;
(4) may be filed by not less than 30 members of the house of representatives
with the clerk of the house.
(g) Once a petition for legislative review is filed, the clerk of the house
or secretary of the senate shall deliver a copy of the petition and certify
the date the petition was received to the secretary of state and the clerk of
the municipality.
(h) Once a petition for legislative review is filed, the charter proposals
shall only become effective upon affirmative enactment by the general
assembly. The general assembly may amend the charter proposal.