Title 32, Taxation and Finance

§ 630. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Claim” means any request or demand, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property, and whether or not the State has title to the money or property, that: (A) is presented to an officer, employee, or agent of the Stat…

§ 631. Prohibition; penalties (a) No person shall: (1) knowingly present, or cause to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval; (2) knowingly make, use, or cause to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim; (3) …

§ 632. Civil actions for false claims (a) The Attorney General shall investigate violations of subsection 631(a) of this chapter. If the Attorney General finds that a person has violated or is violating subsection 631(a), the Attorney General may bring a civil action in the Civil…

§ 633. Rights of the parties to qui tam actions (a) If the State proceeds with the action, the Attorney General shall have the primary responsibility for prosecuting the action and shall not be bound by any act of the relator. The relator shall have the right to continue as a par…

§ 634. Alternate remedies available to determine civil penalty Notwithstanding sections 632 and 633 of this chapter, the Attorney General may elect to pursue the Attorney General’s claim through any alternate remedy available to the State under any other law or regulation, includ…

§ 635. Payments to relators; limitations (a) If the Attorney General proceeds with an action brought by a relator under subsection 632(b) of this chapter, the relator shall, subject to subsection (b) of this section, receive at least 15 percent but not more than 25 percent of the…

§ 636. Certain actions barred (a) An individual may not bring an action under subsection 632(b) of this chapter against a member of the State Legislative Branch, the Attorney General, a member of the Judiciary, or a senior Executive Branch official if the action is based on evide…

§ 637. Awards of costs and attorney’s fees against relators; liability (a) If the Attorney General does not proceed with the action and the person bringing the action conducts the action, the court may award to the defendant reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses if the defendan…

§ 638. Relief from retaliatory actions (a) Any employee, contractor, or agent shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make that employee, contractor, or agent whole, if that employee, contractor, or agent is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any oth…

§ 639. Limitation of actions; final judgments in criminal proceedings (a) A civil action under section 632 of this chapter for a violation of subsection 631(a) of this chapter may not be brought after the last to occur of: (1) more than six years after the date on which the viola…

§ 640. Preponderance of the evidence standard In any action brought under section 632 of this title, the party bringing the action shall be required to prove all essential elements of the cause of action, including damages, by a preponderance of the evidence. (Added 2015, No. 25,…

§ 641. Remedies under other laws; legislative construction (a) The provisions of this chapter are not exclusive, and the remedies provided for in this chapter shall be in addition to any other remedies provided for in any other law or available under common law. (b) It is the int…

§ 642. Civil investigative demands (a) In general. (1) Issuance and service. Whenever the Attorney General or a designee has reason to believe that any person may be in possession, custody, or control of any documentary material or information relevant to a false claims law inves…

§ 701. General appropriation bill When the budget has been submitted to the General Assembly, it shall be immediately referred to the Committee on Appropriations, which shall at once proceed to consider the same and as soon as possible thereafter prepare a bill that shall be know…

§ 701a. Capital construction bill (a) When the capital budget has been submitted by the Governor to the General Assembly, it shall immediately be referred to the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions, which shall proceed to consider the budget request in the context of …

§ 702. Exceeding budget The head of a State department, who is not elected by the people, shall not exceed the limits of the budget adopted by the General Assembly for his or her department, and in the event that such limit is exceeded, the Governor shall remove him or her after …

§ 703. Unexpended appropriations The unexpended and unencumbered balances of any sums appropriated by the General Assembly shall, at the end of the fiscal year, unless otherwise specifically provided, revert to the appropriate fund balance. Refunds of expenditures and reimburseme…

§ 704. Interim budget and appropriation adjustments (a) The General Assembly recognizes that acts of appropriations and their sources of funding reflect the priorities for expenditures of public funds enacted by the General Assembly and that major reductions or transfers, when re…

§ 704a. Execution of the laws relating to appropriations (a) The Governor and every other officer or employee of the Executive Branch shall faithfully execute the laws relating to appropriations so as to effectuate the intent of the General Assembly in enacting such laws, includi…

§ 705. Allotment of appropriations (a) With the approval of the Governor, the Secretary of Administration, through the Commissioner of Finance and Management or such divisions of the Agency of Administration as the Commissioner may designate, shall have the following powers, duti…

§ 706. Transfer of appropriations Notwithstanding any authority granted elsewhere, all transfers of appropriations shall be made pursuant to this section upon the initiative of the Governor or upon the request of a secretary or commissioner. (1) With the approval of the Governor,…

§ 710. Payment of State agency fees (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Agency of Transportation, any cooperating municipalities, and their contractors or agents shall be exempt from the payment of fee charges for reviews, inspections, or nonoperating permits issu…

§ 711. Approval of debt If a person as defined in 1 V.S.A. § 128, except a municipality as defined in 1 V.S.A. § 126, pays a majority of its operating expenses, as determined in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, in any fiscal year with amounts appropriated…

§ 801. Independent audit authorized The financial statements of the funds of State government or the financial and other records of the Tax Commissioner, Treasurer, and Agency of Administration shall be examined by competent accountants employed by the State under the direction o…

§ 805. County accounts to be specific The Auditor shall not allow the account of a sheriff, jailer, State’s Attorney, county clerk, Justice, or district judge, unless such account specifies the offense charged or law violated on account of which such expenses or fees were incurre…

§ 806. Audit where prisoner is bound over (a) The cost of examination of a person accused of a crime exceeding the jurisdiction of a district judge to try and determine may be certified by the judge to the Auditor who shall audit the same. (b) The Auditor shall require each distr…

§ 807. Audit of sheriff’s accounts All accounts of a sheriff or his or her deputy shall be allowed as the account of the sheriff, and all bills of costs growing out of substantially the same transaction shall be audited at the same time. An officer, magistrate, or witness shall n…

§ 809. Auditing of court clerk accounts and of Probate Court judges The Auditor shall examine the accounts of the judges of Probate and Superior Court clerks and ascertain whether their fees are properly and uniformly charged and rendered, and if the Auditor finds they are not, h…

§ 1000. Affordable amount of general obligation bond authorization When the General Assembly authorizes the issuance of new long-term general obligation bonds, it shall consider the maximum amount of such bonds recommended as prudent for the fiscal year concerned by the Capital D…

§ 1001. Capital Debt Affordability Advisory Committee (a) Committee established. A Capital Debt Affordability Advisory Committee is hereby created with the duties and composition provided by this section. (b) Committee duties. (1) The Committee shall review annually the size and …

§ 1001a. Reports (a) The Capital Debt Affordability Advisory Committee shall prepare and submit consistent with 2 V.S.A. § 20(a) a report on: (1) general obligation debt, pursuant to subsection 1001(c) of this title; and (2) how many, if any, Transportation Infrastructure Bonds h…

§ 1001b. Cash Fund for Capital and Essential Investments (a) Creation. There is hereby created the Cash Fund for Capital and Essential Investments to be administered by the Commissioner of Finance and Management, in consultation with the State Treasurer. The Fund shall have the f…

§ 901. Borrowing money The Treasurer shall not make a contract binding the State for money borrowed unless it is countersigned by the Secretary of State. (Amended 2007, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 27.)

§ 902. Authorization to borrow money (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the State Treasurer, with notification to the Governor, on behalf of the State may borrow on the credit of the State for the purpose of raising funds to pay expenses of government…

§ 932. Claims against the State (a) A person who has a claim against the State, the payment of which is not otherwise specially provided for by law, may file a claim in Small Claims Court in accordance with 12 V.S.A. chapter 187. Notwithstanding 12 V.S.A. § 5531(a), judgments on …

§ 932a. Administrative reimbursement for property damages (a) In lieu of proceeding under section 932 of this title, a State employee who has a claim against the State for property damages may elect to file a claim under this section, provided the claim does not exceed $1,000.00.…

§ 933. Hearing (a) Notwithstanding 12 V.S.A. § 5535, claims to the Small Claims Court brought under this subchapter shall be decided by the court with no jury. An appeal from the decision of the Small Claims Court shall be in accordance with provisions of 12 V.S.A. § 5538. (b) Th…

§ 935. Payment of claims The amount paid under this subchapter shall be charged to the State agency responsible for the basis of the claim; otherwise, it shall be paid from the contingent fund.

§ 951. Applicability This subchapter shall apply to all bonds authorized by the General Assembly, provided that provisions in authorizing acts inconsistent with this subchapter shall control, except as provided in section 957 of this title. (Added 1959, No. 24, § 1, eff. March 10…

§ 951a. Debt service funds (a) Three governmental debt service funds are hereby established: (1) the General Obligation Bonds Debt Service Fund to fulfill debt service obligations of general obligation bonds from all funding sources; (2) the Transportation Infrastructure Bonds De…

§ 952. Denominations; how issued The bonds may be issued at one time or in series from time to time, in any form permitted by law. Except for zero coupon bonds or capital appreciation bonds designated as such by the State Treasurer, with the approval of the Governor, each series …

§ 953. Sales, record The State Treasurer, with the approval of the Governor, is hereby authorized to sell such bonds at such prices, in such amount, at such times, and in such manner, with or without advertising the same, as he or she shall determine to be for the best interests …

§ 954. Proceeds (a) The proceeds arising from the sale of bonds, inclusive of any premiums, shall be applied to the purposes for which they were authorized, and the purposes may be considered to include underwriters’ fees and amounts for reserves, but no purchasers of the bonds s…

§ 955. Anticipation of proceeds Pending the issue of said bonds, the State Treasurer, with the approval of the Governor, may use any available cash in the Treasury for the purposes for which the bonds were authorized and restore the same from the proceeds of said bonds. Also, the…

§ 956. Time available Unless otherwise specifically provided as to any particular appropriation to be raised by the issue of bonds, provisions of law relating to the lapse of unexpended appropriations shall not apply. (Added 1959, No. 24, § 6, eff. March 10, 1959.)

§ 957. Consolidation The bonds authorized by one or more acts of the General Assembly may in the discretion of the officers issuing the bonds be combined upon their issue into one or more consolidated issues. The particular bonds of the consolidated issue issued under each author…