The House Government Operations and Military Affairs has jurisdiction over many different areas including, but not limited to: elections, municipal government issues, open meeting laws, public safety, information technology, the Cannabis Control Board, and the Department of Liquor and Lottery.
Broadening Our Commitment to Ethics
Two of the big bills coming out of the committee this year are all about government ethics. The first relates to elected officials for state and county offices, and expands the State Ethics Commission’s role so that they can investigate and hold hearings in response to Vermonters’ complaints. The goal here is to increase transparency and accountability, which will increase the Vermont public’s trust in state government and will help us all work together in a meaningful way.
The statewide ethics bill also broadens the scope of disclosures required of state and county elected officials. It expands current laws to require candidates to disclose individual stock holdings above $25,000 as well as reveal any known contracts with the state as the course of regular business for themselves or their spouse or domestic partner.
In order to encourage timely participation, the bill imposes fines on candidates who fail to file their campaign finance information on time. It also gives the State Ethics Commission the authority to investigate complaints, hold confidential hearings, and should they find it appropriate, they will be able to issue warnings, reprimands, recommend follow-up actions, and facilitate mediation to find a satisfactory resolution.
A second bill focuses on municipal ethics and provides a clear path for concerned Vermonters to register complaints regarding municipal officials’ ethics. This starts with a uniform Code of Ethics for all municipalities. With this in place, everyone will be coming from the same place regarding conflict of interest, favoritism, financial conflicts, and other issues that regularly come up in the course of a citizen government. Respect for the officials’ confidentiality is important, so while the State Ethics Commission reviews these complaints, they will remain confidential, although the results will be made public.
Law Enforcement and Public Safety (Act 30 and PR1)
Last year the committee focused a lot of attention on law enforcement training and accountability, as well as a model financial policy for sheriffs through S.17/Act 30 (An act relating to sheriff reforms) and other bills focused on public safety. That work is continuing, with efforts like increasing courthouse security as well as improved training programs and recruitment for law enforcement. The Vermont Criminal Justice Council has made progress modernizing training and is hosting the largest classes ever at the police academy to fill law enforcement positions across the state.
In response to several high-profile issues with Sheriffs offices across the state, Act 30 (S.17) required a number of reforms, including audits and model financial policy to be adopted. It clarifies that sheriffs should avoid conflict of interest, or the appearance of conflict of interest, and specifies what information should be made public. It also requires sheriffs to participate in Vermont’s Code of Ethics Policy. The model policy for sheriff departments compensation and benefits and a new Director of Sheriff Operations are rolling out now.
The Senate is soon voting on a constitutional amendment, PR.1 (Elections; sheriffs; qualifications), which the committee will take up after the Town Meeting break. PR1 will give the general assembly the power to set qualifications to run for and hold county positions like sheriff and states attorney, ensuring that we have objective standards for who can serve in these important positions. We shouldn’t permit decertified law enforcement officers or disbarred attorneys to serve in these roles, but that is allowed under the current constitutional language.
Democracy and Open Meetings (Act 1 and S.55)
The committee’s first order of business this session was to extend COVID-era Open Meeting Law policies for another year with Act 1 (An act relating to temporary alternative procedures for annual municipal meetings and electronic meetings of public bodies). The committee is following up on this with a more in-depth and permanent consideration of Open Meeting Law with S.55 (An act relating to authorizing public bodies to meet electronically under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law). One major portion of this bill is figuring out which meetings will require a physical location (not solely held remotely), whether remote access should be offered, and whether or not a hybrid model should or even could be required for meetings. It’s critical to the future of our democracy that we choose appropriate standards that allow the most public access from local meetings all the way to state boards and commissions.