Action Alert!
A bill that would delay implementation of oversight authority for the state's Ethics Commission passed out of Committee last week and is scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor this week. See our full analysis of the bill...
Legislative lawyers have argued that they believe independent oversight of the legislative and judicial branches of state government poses a separation of powers issue. We believe this argument doesn't hold water because two independent experts on the Vermont constitution have disagreed with this assessment and 43 other states have given their Ethics Commissions full enforcement authority.
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.”
All of that said, the Senate's version of the bill is still preferable to the House version as it only delays the new powers for two years instead of wiping them out completely. The argument for the Senate's approach is that the Commission lacks the resources to begin enforcement duties, while that is true, it is also something that the Legislature could solve.
The Commission has been asking for additional staffing for years now, but the Legislature has not provided any additional resources beyond a part time Executive Director and an administrative assistant.
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.
Join us in reminding legislators that they should embrace independent oversight and provide the necessary funding to the Ethics Commission to do their job effectively.
The time is now... Join me in writing to your legislators!
Tell them it is wrong to exempt themselves from ethics oversight.
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.