§ 484. Travel Information Council; creation, membership, terms

(a) The Travel Information Council is created to administer the provisions of this chapter.

(1) The Agency of Transportation shall be responsible for the administration and maintenance of the official business directional sign program, information plazas, and other tourist information facilities deemed appropriate by the Council.

(2) The Agency of Commerce and Community Development shall be responsible for the collection and distribution of travel information, as deemed appropriate by the Council.

(b)(1) The Council may adopt rules consistent with this chapter relating to the determination of locations for official business directional signs and to all other matters necessary and appropriate to the administration of this chapter. In adopting those rules it shall give consideration to the adequacy of information provided by highway directional signs and the preservation of scenic and aesthetic values and shall consult with the Agency of Transportation as to matters of highway safety.

(2) It shall determine whether official business directional signs at a particular location shall be displayed in tiers or upon panels.

(3) It shall advise the Agency of Commerce and Community Development on policies and matters pertaining to collection and distribution of tourist information.

(c)(1) The Council shall have seven members, comprising the Secretary of Commerce and Community Development or designee, who shall chair the Council, and six appointed members as follows: one representing the lodging industry, one the restaurant industry, one the recreation industry, one the Agency of Transportation, one the general public, and one agriculture.

(2) The six appointed members shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate in two-year staggered terms so that three members are appointed annually. The members are eligible for reappointment.

(3) Members of the Council shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses as permitted under 32 V.S.A. § 1010, which shall be paid by the Agency of Transportation.

(d)(1) The Council shall designate, in each State transportation district, a person to represent business, a person to represent the public, and a person to represent the district planning or development agencies as a committee to act for it in those districts in considering applications for signs and the location thereof.

(2) The members of the committee shall serve at the pleasure of the Council, and a majority of a committee shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of any business.

(3) A person aggrieved by a decision of a committee may ask for and shall be granted a hearing before the Council and may appeal on questions of law to the Superior Court under V.R.C.P. 74 from a decision of the Council. (Added 1967, No. 333 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. March 23, 1968; amended 1969, No. 92, § 2, eff. April 19, 1969; 1971, No. 115, § 1, eff. April 26, 1971; 1983, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1993, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 1995, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 1(a), (b); 2019, No. 61, § 5.)