The House Government Operations Committee returned to two draft ethics bills on Wednesday. Jaye Pershing Johnson (General Counsel, Governor's Office) was up first, speaking to the good working relationship the Administration has with Ethics Commission. The Administration has no opposition to draft except to note that the Sheriffs already have a financial disclosure requirement. They believe these requirements should be equal and apply to all. Pershing Johnson had one caution however, which was that historically requirements for financial disclosures have a tendency to discourage folks from serving if the burden of disclosure is too great. She suggested that the  Legislature might want to avoid giving the appearance of ‘weaponizing’ the Commission.

The first person to testify on the draft ethics bills in front of the House Government Operations Committee was Ted Brady (Executive Director, Vermont League of Cities and Towns).

NOTE: Brady had submitted a letter to the Committee which we had read when preparing our last newsletter. In my mind, the letter did not clearly present the League’s position on a statewide ethics bill. In listening to this week's presentation, it became very clear what his position is.

Christina Sivret (Executive Director, Vermont State Ethics Commission) testified on two draft bills in the House Government Operations Committee on Tuesday.

A bill changing numerous education provisions, H.429, generated a great deal of interest this session. Numerous people testified in both the House and Senate. On May 9th, a strike-all amendment from the Senate Government Operations Committee was considered. It incorporated provisions from S.32, which would create a Ranked-Choice Voting system for presidential primary elections.

The Senate took up H.125 on the floor Wednesday, which deals with a number of different boards and commissions. Notably, the bill would repeal the Clean Energy Development Board and limit the authority of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority. 

It also repeals the Government Accountability Committee and makes the Vermont Pension Investment Commission (VPIC)more independent from the State Treasurer.

Christina Sivret introduced herself to the House Government Operations Committee on Tuesday. She talked about the Vermont Ethics Commission and the service they provide. The majority of their current responsibilities relate to training and providing advice; they have ability to receive complaints but not to investigate them. However, they do oversee that State Code of Ethics.

The concept, she explained, is that the State Code of Ethics should apply to all state employees. She discussed the fact that if there can be additional codes of ethics within a state department that may be more stringent than the statewide code.

Christina Sivret (Executive Director, Vermont Ethics Commission) joined the Senate Government Operations Committee to discuss a provision they wanted added to H.125. The underlying bill delt with boards and Commissions, but the Committee had previously indicated that this was a good vehicle for the language she was looking for.

Christina Sivret presentation for the Vermont Ethics Commission budget to Senate Appropriations on Friday. The total budget came up to $190K, which includes two half-time personnel, plus a contractor. The Committee asked Sivret a number of questions, but they were very receptive to the presentation. 

She was able to present all her hopes relative to enforcement of the Code of Ethics and candidate disclosure requirements now being proposed to be added to H.429. She also spoke about the required training and the support they offer public officials through advisory letters.

Christina Sivret (Executive Director, Vermont Ethics Commission) presented to the Senate Government Operations Committee on Wednesday a proposal to add language to H.429 surrounding candidate financial disclosures and the compliance with such requirements.

The Senate Government Operations Committee took up a draft bill on Tuesday that would make miscellaneous changes to ethics laws. Legislative Counsel walked through the bill with the Committee.