May 20, 2014 •
Vermont Attorney General Issues Additional Guidance on Contributions
The Vermont attorney general has issued guidance regarding the state’s contribution limits effective through the end of the year. His guidance interprets the $1,000 per election limit as meaning a candidate may accept a total of $2,000 for the 2013-2014 […]
The Vermont attorney general has issued guidance regarding the state’s contribution limits effective through the end of the year. His guidance interprets the $1,000 per election limit as meaning a candidate may accept a total of $2,000 for the 2013-2014 election cycle, even if the candidate does not face a primary contest. Candidates who lose their primary election may also accept the full $2,000. This guidance is effective for contribution limits only through the end of the year, as Vermont’s new contribution limits effective January 1, 2015 are per two-year election cycle rather than per election.
The full text of the attorney general’s guidance is here.
May 15, 2014 •
Vermont Attorney General Officially Corrects Legislature’s Campaign Finance Error
Attorney General William Sorrell issued a formal opinion confirming the state’s current contribution limits will remain in effect through the 2014 elections. Early in the legislative session, Vermont enacted Senate Bill 82, repealing the existing campaign finance law upon passage […]
Attorney General William Sorrell issued a formal opinion confirming the state’s current contribution limits will remain in effect through the 2014 elections. Early in the legislative session, Vermont enacted Senate Bill 82, repealing the existing campaign finance law upon passage and establishing new contribution limits to take effect January 1, 2015.
The bill contained a drafting error, however, repealing the existing limits without anything in their place before the new limits take effect in 2015. The House attempted to correct the error through an additional bill, but it was never acted upon by the Senate Finance Committee.
While the Elections Division issued a statement confirming the old limits still applied, Secretary of State Jim Condos requested a formal opinion from the state’s attorney general since his office lacked statutory authority to enforce the old limits.
Relying on legislative deliberations on Senate Bill 82, Sorrell ruled the Legislature did not intend to repeal existing limits for the 2014 election cycle, and the existing limits at the time of the bill’s passage will be enforced until the new limits take effect next year.
February 19, 2014 •
Vermont May Establish Ethics Commission
Vermont may soon move off the list of states without an independent ethics commission if new legislation passes this spring. House Bill 846 establishes the Vermont Ethics Commission, tasked with investigating complaints relating to breaches of legislative ethics law. The […]
Vermont may soon move off the list of states without an independent ethics commission if new legislation passes this spring.
House Bill 846 establishes the Vermont Ethics Commission, tasked with investigating complaints relating to breaches of legislative ethics law.
The bill also includes revolving door provisions and ethics guidelines for legislators and executive branch employees.
February 10, 2014 •
Vermont Campaign Finance Bill Contains Significant Drafting Error
A drafting error in the state’s new campaign finance law left Vermont temporarily without contribution limits. The new limits are set to take effect on January 1, 2015, but the bill repealed the entire existing law effective upon the governor’s […]
A drafting error in the state’s new campaign finance law left Vermont temporarily without contribution limits. The new limits are set to take effect on January 1, 2015, but the bill repealed the entire existing law effective upon the governor’s signature.
Although the repealed statutory limits had been invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006, the law reverted to the limits prior to the unconstitutional amendment. The prior contribution limits will remain in effect until the new limits begin in 2015, according to a statement on the Elections Division website.
January 24, 2014 •
Vermont Enacts New Contribution Limits
Vermont has passed comprehensive campaign finance reform early in the second year of its biennial session. Senate Bill 82, signed by Governor Peter Shumlin on January 23, repealed Vermont’s existing campaign finance law and enacted a new framework in […]
Vermont has passed comprehensive campaign finance reform early in the second year of its biennial session. Senate Bill 82, signed by Governor Peter Shumlin on January 23, repealed Vermont’s existing campaign finance law and enacted a new framework in its place. The most notable provision of the bill is new campaign finance limits. The new limits, effective January 1, 2015 are as follows:
- Candidates for the office of state representative: $1,000 per election cycle from a single source or political committee;
- Candidates for the office of state senator: $1,500 per election cycle from a single source or political committee;
- Candidates for the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, auditor of accounts, or attorney general: $4,000 per election cycle from a single source or political committee;
- Candidates for candidates for local office: $1,000 per election cycle from a single source or political committee;
- Candidates for county office: $1,500 per election cycle from a single source or political committee;
- Contributions to a political committee: $4,000 per election cycle from a single source, political committee, or political party; and
- Contributions to political parties: $10,000 per election cycle from a single source, political committee, or political party.
Critics of the bill noted the high limit on contributions to political parties, notable because political parties may give unlimited contributions to candidates under the new framework. The bill also included an aggregate election cycle limit of $40,000 from a single source to take effect January 1, 2015, unless the U.S. Supreme Court holds such limits unconstitutional when it delivers its decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission.
May 15, 2013 •
Vermont Legislature Adjourns After Passing State Budget
Campaign finance reform will wait until next session
The Legislature adjourned late Tuesday, May 14, 2013, after passing a $1.4 billion budget bill.
Other hallmark legislation of the session included decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana, assisted suicide, and driver’s licenses for migrant workers, but the legislature failed to pass a major campaign finance reform bill.
Supporters of campaign finance reform vowed to revisit the issue in January 2014.
Photo of Vermont State House by Decumanus on Wikipedia.
January 28, 2013 •
Potential Vermont Legislation May Increase PAC Disclosures
Bill may also increase filing frequency
Representative Kurt Wright announced his intention to introduce campaign finance legislation that will enhance disclosures in an election year. Wright and 10 other legislators are working on legislation that would require campaign finance reports to be filed monthly after January 15 in an election year, and increase filing to biweekly leading up to a primary or general election.
Currently, filings are due monthly after July 15.
The bill will also contain provisions related to donor disclosure, requiring PACs to disclose a top contributor if he or she provides more than half of all contributions in a six-month period, and super PACs to disclose their top three donors if their combined contributions account for more than half of contributions received.
Photo of Vermont State House by Jared C. Benedict on Wikipedia.
July 26, 2012 •
Vermont Attorney General Clarifies Independent Expenditure PAC Contribution Limits
PACs that demonstrate making only independent expenditures not subject to limits
Attorney General William Sorrell has issued a statement that his office will not enforce the $2,000 contribution limit on PACs that only make independent expenditures. The statement comes after a request for clarification from Secretary of State Jim Condos regarding the federal court decision in Vermont Right to Life Committee (VRLC) v. Sorrell.
While the opinion in VRLC v. Sorrell upheld the contribution limit as applied to VRLC’s independent expenditure committee, the ruling was based on the lack of safeguards to ensure that unlimited contributions to VRLC’s independent expenditure committee did not flow into VRLC’s candidate contribution funds.
Attorney General Sorrell stressed that if investigation reveals a PAC’s activities are not conducted entirely independently of candidates, as in VRLC v. Sorrell, it will continue to be subject to the contribution limits.
Photo of Attorney General William Sorrell by Overton2002 on Wikipedia.
July 12, 2012 •
Vermont Campaign Finance Database Two Years Away
Secretary of State hopes to have a searchable database ready for the 2014 elections
It will be two more years before Vermont’s campaign finance reports are available in a searchable database, according to the secretary of state’s office.
Currently, Vermont offers scanned copies of campaign finance reports online, but there is no easy way to search for donor names or contribution totals, and handwriting on the forms may be difficult to read. The secretary of state hoped that such a database would be available for the 2014 elections, but is unable to give a precise timetable or detailed costs.
Common Cause Vermont recently compiled its own searchable database for the 2010 state elections.
June 25, 2012 •
Federal Judge Upholds Vermont Contribution Limits on PACs
Vermont Right to Life Committee plans to appeal
A federal judge has upheld Vermont’s contribution limits on political action committees. Vermont Right to Life Committee (VRLC) and its related political committee, Vermont Right to Life Committee – Fund for Independent Political Expenditures (FIPE), filed suit alleging that Vermont’s registration, reporting, and disclosure requirements for PACs are too broad and unconstitutional, and that FIPE should not be subject to the $2,000 limit on PAC contributions because it only makes independent expenditures.
The judge rejected FIPE’s claim that it should not be subject to the contribution limits on the basis that there is a “fluidity of funds” between FIPE and VRLC that provides no safeguard against unlimited contributions being used to fund candidate contributions.
Secretary of State Jim Condos applauded the ruling; however, the opinion makes clear that the decision to uphold the $2,000 contribution limit weighed heavily on the facts of the case, in particular the lack of separation between FIPE and VRLC. VRLC plans to appeal the ruling.
May 2, 2012 •
Here is the Latest Redistricting News
Today we have items from eight states:
Alaska: “Redistricting map solutions elusive as court battle looms” by Richard Mauer in the Anchorage Daily News.
Kansas: “Kansas Senate OKs redistricting plan” by Brad Cooper in the Kansas City Star.
Kentucky: “Kentucky Supreme Court cites redistricting law as unconstitutional” by Franklin Clark in the Cadiz Record.
Mississippi: “Mississippi Senate unveils its redistricting map” by The Associated Press in the Clarion Ledger.
New Hampshire: “House redistricting plan faces more legal challenges” by Garry Rayno in the Union Leader.
Pennsylvania: “Redistricting panel to receive input on new Pa. maps” by Ali Lanyon (Associated Press) on WHTM.
South Carolina: “Supreme Court considering fate of primary candidates” by Gina Smith in The State.
South Carolina: “SC justices consider fate of dozens of candidates” by Jeffrey Collins (Associated Press) in the Spartanburg Herald Journal.
Vermont: “Vt. lawmakers finish redistricting” on NECN.com.
March 8, 2012 •
Vermont Voters Call for Amendment Concerning Corporate Personhood
Measure the Result of Citizens United Decision
Citizens in 53 communities approved a measure on Vermont’s Town Meeting Day, coinciding with Super Tuesday, calling on the United States Congress to begin the process of amending the Constitution in order to clarify that corporations do not share the same rights as natural persons possess.
The push for such a measure is a result of the decision of the United States Supreme Court in the Citizen’s United case.
Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont, introduced such an amendment in December and appreciated support by his constituents for his efforts, noting “Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, Town Meeting Day voters understood that corporations are not people.”
January 27, 2012 •
Bill Proposes Lobbyist Statute Alterations in Vermont
Lobbyist Registration and Reporting Would be Affected
Senator Jeanette K. White has introduced Senate Bill 150, a bill concerning lobbyist registration and reporting. The bill proposes the removal of the ability to register within 48 hours of beginning to lobby and would require all lobbyists to register prior to lobbying, employers to register prior to engaging a lobbyist, and lobbying firms to file their lobbyist listings prior to the lobbyists commencing lobbying activities.
The bill also requires lobbying firms to update their listing of lobbyists before any new lobbyist commences lobbying activities and within 48 hours of a lobbyist’s termination. Finally, the threshold on reportable gifts to legislators would be decreased from $15 to $10.
If passed in present form, the changes would take effect July 1, 2012.
July 18, 2011 •
Lawmakers Tapping Into Their Social Media Resources
An Increasing Number of Lawmakers Connecting to the Public
It seems that following Obama’s Twitter Town Hall, politicians across the nation are following suit and making the effort to use social media to connect to their followers more than ever. Hopeful Republican presidential nominee Newt Gingrich, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont are three examples of such politicians.
Being one of the first politicians to utilize the new Google+, Newt Gingrich hosted his first Hangout, posting the 13 minute long video of him having a conversation with up to 10 regular Americans at a time onto YouTube. TechPresident published an article written by Nick Judd providing the video and more information here.
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