§ 401-54. Amendment of this chapter

(a) The Board of Supervisors may amend this chapter by the procedure set out in this section. Any vote of the Board required under this section shall be as prescribed in section 14 of this chapter, except that the votes of the representatives of two-thirds of the member municipalities and two-thirds of the votes cast shall be required for adoption. The Board of Supervisors at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Supervisors may pass a resolution stating their intent to amend this chapter. A written copy of the resolution, stating the wording of the amendment and the purpose of the amendment, and the date of a Board meeting scheduled to act on the amendment, shall be delivered to the legislative branches of each municipality and mailed or left at the usual place of residence of each member of the Board of Supervisors at least 30 business days prior to the meeting scheduled to adopt the amendment. The amendment shall be considered adopted by the Board of Supervisors 30 business days following approval of the Board. However, if a majority of the legislative branches of member municipalities request a special District meeting within such a 30-day period, a special District meeting shall be held on the question of approval of the proposed amendment as provided in subchapter 5 of this chapter, and the amendment shall not be adopted unless approved by the District voters.

(b) Upon adoption by the Board of Supervisors or approval of the voters, the amendment shall be submitted and acted on by the General Assembly in accordance with the provisions of 17 V.S.A. § 2645. The amendment shall become effective upon affirmative enactment of the proposal, either as proposed or as amended by the General Assembly. For the purposes of this section, this chapter shall be considered a municipal charter.

(c) This chapter may be amended from time to time in the manner provided in this chapter, but no such amendment shall be made which shall substantially impair the rights of the holders of any bonds or other evidence of indebtedness or substantially affect any obligations under long-term contracts of the District then outstanding or in effect, or the rights of the District to procure the means for payment, continuation, or termination thereof.