Action Alert!
A bill that would allow legislators to exempt themselves from ethics oversight is up for a key vote on Tuesday in the Senate Government Operations Committee!
The bill, H.1, proposes to exempt the the legislature from the requirement to consult with the Executive Director of the State Ethics Commission regarding any complaints referred to them by the Commission. See our full analysis of the bill...
We worked last year to increase the Ethics Commission's oversight of the legislative and judicial branches and lawmakers are already trying to shrug off this oversight! This is exactly the opposite of what we should be doing. Vermont needs stronger ethics oversight for all three branches of government, not weaker. We are at a time when trust in government institutions is at an all-time low, the solution is more sunlight, not less.
Forty-three other states have given their Ethics Commissions full enforcement powers (well beyond just consultation). The Coalition for Public Integrity ranks Vermont in the bottom ten states for anti-corruption measures, citing that the oversight authority (Ethics Commission) has “limited or no power.”
The Senate has a vote scheduled TUESDAY on the bill!
The time is now... Join me in writing to members of the Senate Gov Ops Committee!
Tell them it is wrong to exempt themselves from ethics oversight.
Using Microsoft Outlook? Use this link instead!
You can also write to legislators individually by looking them up.
On behalf of Vermonters,
Pat McDonald
President, Campaign for Vermont
Pat McDonald’s distinguished career includes 20 years in a wide range of leadership positions throughout state and local government. She served as Commissioner of Labor, Commissioner of Employment and Training, Secretary of Transportation, Deputy Commissioner of Education, Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, and Commissioner of Human Resources (twice) under the Republican and Democratic Administrations of Governors Snelling, Dean and Douglas.