Vermont § 123 - Powers and duties

§ 123. Powers and duties

• (a) [Repealed.] (b) The purposes of the Center shall be to: (1) assure that all VGIS data are of high quality and are compatible with, useful to,
  and shared with other public-sector and private-sector data users; (2) encourage the same high standards of quality and compatibility in other Vermont GIS
  cooperators; (3) promote the efficient development and use of geographic information by agencies of
  the State, its political subdivisions, and Vermont businesses and citizens; (4) facilitate the growth of commercial services within Vermont for the provision of spatial
  data, products, and services. (c) Within the limits of available resources, the Center shall operate a program of standards
  development, data dissemination, and quality assurance, and shall perform the following
  duties: (1) Provide or ensure provision of geographic information products and services to Vermont
  citizens, to local and regional planning organizations, to State government, to the
  federal government, and to private businesses and industries. (2) Develop procedures for access to the VGIS. Those procedures shall ensure that VGIS
  data are readily available for the purposes of 24 V.S.A. chapter 117, as well as for
  the support of efficient and economical geographic analysis and decision making by
  government, business, and citizens of Vermont, at a reasonable cost and in reasonable
  forms. (3) Develop, publish, maintain, and implement such VGIS standards as are necessary to
  assure that data are compatible with, useful to, and shared with all users of VGIS
  data, including geographic data standards relating to scale, accuracy, coding, documentation,
  data format, and physical media. (4) In developing relevant policies, procedures, and standards, seek the consultation
  of institutions of higher learning, local government, local and regional planning,
  private business and industry, and other members of the public with an interest in
  or knowledge of GIS technology. (5) For all geographic data that are or may be useful to the Center’s users, and that
  have been collected by any part of State government or generated with State support,
  ensure that such data: (A) Are developed and maintained so as to conform to VGIS standards. (B) Upon request of a potential user, are actually made available to the user in a usable
  format in accordance with 1 V.S.A. § 316 relating to access to public records and related statutes. (C) Are stored and distributed in a manner that will limit the disclosure of data containing
  individual identifiers to disclosure consented to by the individuals in the data. (6) Assist in assessing VGIS financial needs and resources for cooperating State agencies,
  evaluating the adequacy of those financial resources to meet the goals of the three-year
  VGIS work plan, and developing alternate sources of revenue for VGIS data acquisition. (7) Enter into memoranda of understanding, form contracts, and enter cooperative agreements
  for the development, acquisition, maintenance, distribution, and marketing of GIS
  data. (8) Include in any contract for electronic products and services provisions that: (A) Protect the security and integrity of VGIS information and of information systems
  that are shared by public agencies. (B) Indemnify or limit the liability, if any, of the State of Vermont. (9) Notify the State Librarian of the electronic services and products offered to the
  public. The notification must include a summary of the available format options and
  the cost of such products and services. (10) Retain archive copies and act as a distributor for any State agency, as well as for
  other public and private entities, that prepares GIS data or electronic products that
  are compatible with, useful to, and shared with VGIS. (11) Assist the Secretaries of Administration, of Transportation, of Natural Resources,
  of Human Services, and of Commerce and Community Development, and the commissioner
  or director of State departments and offices not within these agencies in the identification
  of information gathered within the respective agency, department, or office that is
  relevant to Vermont’s GIS. Working in cooperation with each organization that identifies
  such information, the Center shall include components within the three-year VGIS work
  plan. Such cooperation may include: (A) formulation of a “memorandum of understanding” between the organization and the Center,
  setting out roles and the relationship between the parties; (B) periodic meetings to identify opportunities for improvement of VGIS information and
  applications gathered or used by the organization; (C) identification of funding strategies, technical procedures, data conversion plans,
  and application development projects in which the Center can be of assistance to the
  organization. (12) Provide to regional planning commissions, State agencies, and the general public orthophotographic
  imagery of the State at a scale appropriate for the production and revision of town
  property maps. Periodically, such digital imagery shall be updated to capture land
  use changes, new settlement patterns, and such additional information as may have
  become available to the Director or the Center. (A) The Center shall supply to each town such orthophotographic imagery as has been prepared
  by it of the total area of that town. Any image shall be available, without charge,
  for public inspection in the office of the town clerk to whom the imagery was supplied. (B) At a reasonable charge to be established by the Center and the Director, the Center
  shall supply to any person or agency other than a town clerk or lister a copy of any
  digital format orthophotographic imagery created under this section. (C) Hard copy or nondigital format orthophotographic imagery created under this section
  shall be available for public review at the State Archives. (d) The Center may provide specialized information or perform specialized services if
  these activities: (1) contribute to achieving the purposes of the Center as stated in subsection (b) of
  this section; (2) are pursued in partnership with the private sector; and (3) are performed without cost to the taxpayer and all direct and indirect costs of obtaining
  these products and services are incurred by the customer or others. (e) [Repealed.] (Added 1993, No. 204 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. June 17, 1994; amended 1995, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 1996; 2013, No. 34, § 5; 2013, No. 179 (Adj. Sess.), § E.800.2, eff. March 30, 2015; 2015, No. 57, § 36, eff. June 11, 2015; 2015, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 19.)