Title 03, Executive

§ 1203i. Employment restrictions (a) Outside employment. A public servant shall not seek or engage in outside employment or activities that are inconsistent, incompatible, or in conflict with the public servant’s official duties. (b) Post-government employment. (1) Executive offi…

§ 1203j. Compliance with laws, rules, and policies A public servant shall comply with applicable State and federal laws and regulations, including anti-discrimination and equal opportunity laws, and comply with applicable governmental codes of conduct. A public servant shall comp…

§ 1204. Whistleblower protections for ethics complaints Consistent with sections 971–978 of this title, a public servant shall be free to disclose waste, fraud, abuse of authority, violations of law, or violations of this or other applicable codes regarding ethical conduct to the…

§ 1205. Mandatory code of ethics education and training Within the first 120 days of public service, a public servant shall engage in State Code of Ethics training, which may be in person or online. Completion of State Code of Ethics training shall be documented by the department…

§ 1211. Executive officers; annual disclosure (a) Annually, each Executive officer and county officer shall file with the State Ethics Commission a disclosure form that contains the following information in regard to the previous 12 months: (1) each source, but not amount, of per…

§ 1212. Commission members and Executive Director; annual disclosure (a) Annually, each member of the Commission and the Executive Director of the Commission shall file with the Executive Director a disclosure form that meets the requirements of and contains the information that …

§ 1213. Disclosures; generally (a) The Executive Director of the Commission shall prepare on behalf of the Commission any disclosure form required to be filed with it and the candidate disclosure form described in 17 V.S.A. § 2414 and shall make forms to be filed with the Commiss…

§ 1221. State Ethics Commission (a) Creation. There is created within the Executive Branch an independent commission named the State Ethics Commission to accept, review, make referrals regarding, and track complaints of alleged violations of governmental conduct regulated by law,…

§ 1222. Commission member prohibited conduct (a) Conflicts of interest. (1) Prohibition; recusal. (A) A Commission member shall not participate in any Commission matter in which he or she has a conflict of interest and shall recuse himself or herself from participation in that ma…

§ 1223. Procedure for accepting and referring complaints (a) Accepting complaints. (1) On behalf of the Commission, the Executive Director shall accept complaints from any source regarding governmental ethics in any of the three branches of State government or of the State’s camp…

§ 1224. Commission ethics training At least annually, in collaboration with the Department of Human Resources, the Commission shall make available to legislators, State officers, and State employees training on issues related to governmental ethics. The training shall include top…

§ 1225. Executive Director guidance and advisory opinions (a) Guidance. (1) The Executive Director may provide guidance only to a person who is or will be subject to the provisions of this chapter, upon his or her request, with respect to that person’s duties regarding any provis…

§ 1226. Commission reports (a) Annually, on or before November 15, the following entities shall report to the State Ethics Commission aggregate data on ethics complaints not submitted to the Commission, with the complaints separated by topic, and the disposition of those complain…

§ 1227. Investigations [Effective July 1, 2028] (a) Power to investigate. The Commission, through its Executive Director, may investigate public servants for alleged unethical conduct. The Commission may investigate alleged unethical conduct after receiving a complaint pursuant t…

§ 1228. Hearings before the Commission [Effective July 1, 2028] (a) Power to hold hearings. The Commission may meet and hold hearings for the purpose of gathering evidence and testimony if found warranted pursuant to section 1227 of this title and to make determinations. (b) Open…

§ 1229. Warnings; reprimands; recommended actions; agreements [Effective July 1, 2028] (a) Power to issue warnings, reprimands, and recommended actions. The Commission may issue warnings, reprimands, and recommended actions, not inconsistent with the Vermont Constitution and laws…

§ 1230. Procedure; rulemaking [Effective July 1, 2028] (a) Procedure. Unless otherwise controlled by statute or rules adopted by the Commission, the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure and the Vermont Rules of Evidence shall apply in the Commission’s investigations and hearings. (b)…

§ 1231. Records; confidentiality [Effective July 1, 2028] (a) Intent. It is the intent of this section both to protect the reputation of public servants from public disclosure of frivolous complaints against them and to fulfill the public’s right to know any unethical conduct com…

§ 2001. Power of Governor The Governor may make such changes in the organization of the Executive Branch or in the assignment of functions among its units as he or she considers necessary for efficient administration. (1969, No. 245 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 4, 1970.)

§ 2002. Executive Orders (a) The Governor may propose by executive order changes in the organization of the Executive Branch of government that are not consistent with or will supersede existing organization provided for by law. The executive order shall be submitted to both hous…

§ 2003. Transfer of personnel and appropriations In effecting any change or modification in the organization of the Executive Branch by executive order, the following limitations and provisions shall apply: (1) New agencies, departments, and divisions shall be staffed so far as p…

§ 2004. Terms of Governor’s appointees Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all commissioners of State departments and all members of State boards and commissions appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate when this provision so applies, shall ser…

§ 2005. Continuing functions When any unit of government is transferred by executive order to another unit without substantial change in its functions it shall be deemed to have continued in force without any interruption in its functions. (1969, No. 245 (Adj. Sess.), § 6(4), eff…

§ 2006. Prospective effect The transfer of any agency, department, or division or any other governmental unit or its functions shall not affect any act done, liability incurred, or any right accrued or vested, or affect, abate, or prevent any action or prosecution pending or to b…

§ 2007. Effective dates of transfers For the purpose of effecting an orderly transfer of the authority, duties, powers, responsibilities, and functions to any newly created governmental unit or units, the Governor may by executive order or orders determine the date on which the t…

§ 2101. Creation A cabinet is created in the Executive Branch of government that shall consist of the Secretaries of such agencies as are created by law. (1969, No. 244 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 10, 1971.)

§ 2102. Powers and duties (a) The Governor’s Cabinet shall adopt and implement a program of continuing coordination and improvement of the activities carried on at all levels of State and local government. (b) The Cabinet shall work collaboratively with the Executive Director of …

§ 2103. Oath, meetings; committees (a) Each Secretary shall take and file the official oath prior to assuming office. (b) The Governor’s Cabinet shall meet from time to time at the call of the Governor. The cabinet may create such committees as it considers appropriate, the membe…

§ 2104. Planning The Central Planning Office and its State planning functions are transferred hereby to the Office of the Governor. The Governor, by executive order, may specify the duties, responsibilities, and organization of the Office as he or she deems necessary for the prop…

§ 2201. Definitions In this chapter, the following words mean: (1) Agency: The Agency of Administration; (2) Secretary: The head of the Agency, a member of the Governor’s Cabinet, who is responsible to the Governor for the administration of the Agency; (3) Department: A major com…

§ 2202. Creation of Agency (a) An Agency of Administration is created. The Agency shall consist of the following: (1) The Department of Finance and Management; (2) The Department of Human Resources; (3) The Department of Buildings and General Services; (4) The Department of Libra…

§ 2203. Advisory capacity (a) All boards, committees, councils, and commissions that under this chapter are a part of or are attached to the Agency shall be advisory only, except as hereinafter provided, and the powers and duties of the boards, committees, councils, and commissio…

§ 2204. Personnel designation The secretary, deputy secretary, commissioners, deputy commissioners, attorneys, and all members of boards, committees, councils, and commissions attached to the Agency for support are exempt from the classified State service. Except as authorized by…

§ 2221. Appointment and salary (a) The Agency shall be under the direction and supervision of a Secretary, who shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. (b) [Repealed.] (Added 1971, No. 92, § 4(a)…

§ 2222. Powers and duties; budget and report (a) In addition to the duties expressly set forth elsewhere by law, the Secretary shall: (1) As principal administrative aide to the Governor, plan, organize, direct, control, integrate, coordinate, and supervise all functions and prog…

§ 2222d. Employee Misclassification Task Force (a) As used in this section, “employee misclassification” means: (1) the misclassification of an employee as an independent contractor; or (2) a violation of 21 V.S.A. § 687 or 708 that results from an employer claiming that it is no…

§ 2223. Deputy Secretary; acting Secretary (a) The Secretary, with the approval of the Governor, may appoint a Deputy Secretary to serve at his or her pleasure and to perform such duties as the Secretary prescribes. The Deputy Secretary shall be exempt from the classified service…

§ 2224. Transfer of personnel The Secretary, with the approval of the Governor, may transfer classified positions between State departments and other components of the Agency, subject only to personnel laws and rules. (Added 1971, No. 92, § 4(f), eff. June 1, 1971.)

§ 2226. Public highways; conduit standards (a) Intent. The intent of this section is to provide for the construction of infrastructure sufficient to allow telecommunications service providers seeking to deploy communication lines in the future to do so by pulling the lines throug…

§ 2251. Commissioners—Appointment; term (a) The Secretary, with the approval of the Governor and with the advice and consent of the Senate, may appoint a commissioner of each department, except the Department of Libraries, who shall be the chief executive and administrative offic…

§ 2252. Mandatory duties (a) The commissioner shall determine the policies of the department, and may exercise the powers and shall perform the duties required for its effective administration. (b) In addition to other duties imposed by law, the commissioner shall: (1) administer…

§ 2253. Permissive duties; approval of Secretary Each commissioner may, with the approval of the Secretary: (1) Transfer classified positions within or between divisions subject only to State laws and rules. (2) Cooperate with the appropriate federal agencies and administer feder…

§ 2254. Directors A director shall administer each division within the agency. (Added 1971, No. 92, § 6, eff. June 1, 1971; amended 1977, No. 105, § 1; 1977, No. 109, § 30, eff. July 3, 1977; 1983, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 5, eff. April 11, 1984; 1983, No. 170 (Adj. Sess.), §§…

§ 2281. Department of Finance and Management The Department of Finance and Management is created in the Agency of Administration and is charged with all powers and duties assigned to it by law, including the following: (1) To administer the financial transactions of the State, in…

§ 2282. Department of Taxes The Department of Taxes is created in the Agency of Administration to exercise all powers and perform all duties assigned to it by law, including the collection and administration of all taxes levied under the law and payable to the State that are not …

§ 2283. Department of Human Resources (a) The Department of Human Resources is created in the Agency of Administration. In addition to other responsibilities assigned to it by law, the Department is responsible for fulfilling the payroll functions and for the provision of central…