Access to Government Records, Information More Important Than Ever

MONTPELIER — As the days are getting longer and snow is melting it is fitting that this is Sunshine Week, an annual celebration of government records and information as the cornerstone of government accountability and transparency. A government “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” as President Abraham Lincoln famously stated in his Gettysburg address, means people must have access to authentic and reliable records and information. Without this, we’re in the dark. As we face an increasingly complex landscape of disinformation and misinformation, access to authentic, reliable and trustworthy government records and information is more important than ever.

Sunshine Week coincides with a poignant time in our history. It is alarming that our fundamental rights as Americans are currently under threat from an unprecedented dismantling of the Federal agencies and unauthorized destruction of Federal records and information. Both are critical for ensuring government accountability and transparency, fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers, and the public’s right to know. The effectiveness of all government programs and services relies on authentic and reliable information. Further, the public’s trust in these programs and services relies on transparency, accountability, and civic engagement.

Yet, authentic and reliable records and information are being removed from Federal websites, despite being an efficient and cost-effective way to provide publicly available information and actively engage Americans in the Federal programs and services they rely on. Federal civil servants responsible for the management, technologies and use of Federal records and information are being fired or have voluntarily resigned or retired. Those recently affected include employees at the National Archives and Records Administration, United States Digital Service, 18F (a digital services team within the General Services Administration), and key Federal agencies dedicated to data collection and research. All told, the recent and ongoing loss of institutional and expert knowledge is staggering.

For Sunshine Week 2025, it is crucial to shed light on Vermont’s laws for a transparent and open government. The State of Vermont’s commitment to manage and safeguard its local and state government records and information, especially from unauthorized destruction, was established by state law in 1937. Following the Watergate scandal of 1972 and subsequent Congressional action to further ensure government accountability and transparency, while also balancing individual rights to personal privacy, state legislatures, including the Vermont General Assembly, shored up state laws to require the same. Today, government accountability and transparency are governed by what is called the Vermont Public Records Act (1 V.S.A. §§ 315 – 320) and its importance cannot be overstated: access to authentic and reliable government records and information is a fundamental right.

The Secretary of State’s Office, through the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration (VSARA), fulfills a relatively simple, yet essential, role in the Vermont Public Records Act. VSARA is charged with supporting Vermont government in systematically managing its records and information “to provide ready access to vital information, to promote the efficient and economical operation of government, and to preserve their legal, administrative, and informational value.” (1 V.S.A. § 317a). The archives, records and information professionals at VSARA rise to this challenge without fanfare.

The baseline VSARA sets for Vermont public agencies is compliance with all six parts of the Vermont Public Records Act – Policy, Access, Exemptions, Management, Procedure, and Enforcement – and with the specific laws and rules that govern each individual agency’s records and information. This work is done in collaboration with managers, technologists, legal counsel, and other agency stakeholders. The outcomes are effective policies and procedures for managing and safeguarding Vermont records and information and publicly available documentation of what types of records and information are created or received by each public agency. Full transparency. Full accountability.

Why is this important? Full transparency and accountability of what records and information are created or received and the requirements relating to their management are critically important, especially for legal certainty of their authenticity, reliability, and trustworthiness. Government programs and services depend on them and the public does too. We, as a nation, stand to suffer profoundly if our nation’s “freedom of information,” “public records” and “right to know” laws falter for any American.

The Secretary of State’s Office is doing, and will continue to do, everything in its power to ensure that the public’s access to authentic, reliable and trustworthy government records and information is neither disrupted nor prevented. This includes preserving Vermont’s rights to a transparent and open Federal government as well.

Tanya Marshall is the Vermont State Archivist and Chief Records Officer and Director of the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, a division of the Vermont Secretary of State.

Tanya Marshall