Emergencies on Party Telephone Lines

V.S.A. tit. 13, ch. 81, subch. 5

in effect

13 V.S.A. § 3801 Definitions

3801. Definitions As used in this section: (1) “Party line” means a subscribers’ line telephone circuit, consisting of two or more main telephone stations connected therewith, each station with a distinctive ring or telephone number. (2) “Emergency” means a situation in which property or human life is in jeopardy and the prompt summoning of aid is essential.

13 V.S.A. § 3802 Refusal to surrender line in an emergency

3802. Refusal to surrender line in an emergency A person shall not willfully refuse to surrender the use of a party line to another person for the purpose of permitting such other person to report a fire or summon police, medical or other aid in case of emergency.

13 V.S.A. § 3803 Declaring emergency falsely

3803. Declaring emergency falsely A person shall not request the use of a party line on pretext that an emergency exists, knowing that an emergency does not exist.

13 V.S.A. § 3804 Notice in telephone directories

3804. Notice in telephone directories Every telephone directory hereafter distributed to the members of the general public shall contain a copy of this subchapter, printed in type which is no smaller than eight-point type and is headed by the word “warning” in larger and bold-faced type. The provisions of this section do not apply to directories published solely for business purposes, commonly known as classified directories.

13 V.S.A. § 3805 Penalties

3805. Penalties A person who violates this subchapter shall be fined not more than $300.00 or imprisoned for not more than one month, or both.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/13/081Fetched: 10/21/2026