Title 02, Title 02: Legislature

§ 13. Daily journals (a) At the close of each legislative day, the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives shall prepare a daily copy of the journal of their respective bodies for such day. (b) Such journals shall contain all motions, votes, orders, and …

§ 14. Stenographic assistance for journals Such Secretary and Clerk shall procure stenographic and other clerical assistance as they respectively deem necessary to ensure the proper, efficient, and expeditious performance of the work required by section 13 of this title. Compensa…

§ 15. Daily calendar At the close of each legislative day, such Secretary and Clerk shall prepare a calendar of the measures in their files for consideration by their respective bodies on the following legislative day. A sufficient number of copies of each calendar shall be print…

§ 16. Printing and distribution of daily calendar, journal, and bills Copies of the daily calendar and journal shall be immediately furnished to the printer designated by the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services. The printing of the calendar and journal shall be under t…

§ 19. Compensation to chaplains Chaplains serving the Legislature, other than members of the Legislature, shall receive $5.00 a day to defray expenses for each day served and such sums shall be paid by the Commissioner of Finance and Management from the legislative appropriation.…

§ 2. Use of hall and Senate chamber The Representatives’ Hall and the Senate Chamber shall not be used for purposes other than legislation or business connected therewith, except as the two houses may by joint rule or resolution provide.

§ 20. Limitation on distribution and duration of agency reports (a) Unless otherwise provided by law, whenever it is required by statute, rule, or otherwise that an agency submit an annual, biennial, or other periodic report to the General Assembly, that requirement shall be met …

§ 21. Employees; subpoena prohibited (a) No employee or former employee of the General Assembly may be compelled to give testimony or to appear and produce documentary evidence in a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding if: (1) the testimony or documentary evidence sought relates…

§ 22. Complaint filed in the Superior Court to compel testimony or production of evidence (a) If a person does not comply with a legislative subpoena, a Superior Court may compel the attendance of the person, the giving of testimony, and the production of papers or other evidence…

§ 23. Standing committees; authority to meet; out-of-state business (a) During adjournment of the General Assembly, any standing committee or subcommittee of a standing committee may with the appropriate approval of the Speaker or the President Pro Tempore meet at the call of its…

§ 3. Senate certificates; oaths; Secretary; canvassing committee The members-elect of the Senate shall deliver their certificates of election to the President of the Senate before 10 o’clock in the forenoon of the first Wednesday next after the first Monday of January, following …

§ 4. Senate vacancy If a vacancy occurs in the Senate, the Governor shall appoint some person from the district wherein the vacancy occurs to fill the unexpired term, and shall transmit to the person so appointed a certificate of his or her appointment, and cause a certified copy…

§ 6. House roll; election of Speaker The Secretary of State shall make a roll, by districts, of members whose credentials have been received in the form of a certificate from the Canvassing Committee or a superseding court order, and at 10 o’clock in the forenoon of the first Wed…

§ 7. House Clerk; Canvassing Committee The House shall then elect a Clerk and on the nomination of the Speaker shall appoint a committee, consisting of three members from each district, to join such committee as the Senate appoints, to canvass the votes for Governor, Lieutenant G…

§ 8. Assistant Clerks of House The Clerk shall appoint two assistants for whose acts he or she shall be responsible.

§ 9. House vacancy If a vacancy occurs in the Office of Representative to the General Assembly, the Governor shall appoint some person from the district wherein the vacancy occurs to fill the unexpired term, and shall transmit to the person so appointed a certificate of his or he…

§ 41. Creation of Committee; purpose (a) Creation. There is created the Joint Legislative Management Committee. The Committee shall provide general oversight and management across the offices of the General Assembly and shall coordinate the operations of the Office of Legislative…

§ 42. Oversight and management functions (a) The Joint Legislative Management Committee shall: (1) prepare a proposed budget for the Legislative Branch that includes a budget for each legislative office; (2) approve requests for new, permanent positions in staff offices as approp…

§ 61. Election A Sergeant at Arms shall be elected biennially by the Senate and House of Representatives in joint assembly.

§ 62. Legislative duties (a) The Sergeant at Arms shall: (1) execute orders of either house, the Joint Legislative Management Committee, the Committee on Joint Rules, or the House or Senate Committee on Rules; (2) maintain order among spectators and take measures to prevent inter…

§ 64. Employment of assistants; Capitol Police (a) The Sergeant at Arms may employ assistants, custodians, doorkeepers, guides, messengers, mail and room assignment clerks, security personnel, pages, and other staff as needed to carry out the Sergeant at Arms’ duties, except that…

§ 67. Deputy Sergeant at Arms The Chief Doorkeeper of the House of Representatives shall be ex officio Deputy Sergeant at Arms. (Added 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 52, eff. March 1, 1961.)

§ 68. Budget The Sergeant at Arms shall propose a budget for the Office of Sergeant at Arms to the Joint Legislative Management Committee. (Added 2019, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 70. Capitol Police Department (a) Creation. The Capitol Police Department is created within the Office of the Sergeant at Arms. The Sergeant at Arms shall appoint and may remove, at his or her pleasure, individuals as Capitol Police officers, one of whom shall be appointed to s…

§ 201. Commission; appointment; term; vacancy The Commission heretofore created for the promotion of uniformity of legislation shall consist of four lawyers, to be appointed by the Governor, each of whom shall serve for the term of five years commencing on the first day of Februa…

§ 202. Duties; meetings The Commission shall examine the subjects of civil marriage and divorce, insolvency, the form of notarial certificates, the descent and distribution of property, the acknowledgment of deeds, the execution and probate of wills, the law of incorporation of b…

§ 204. Expenses and funding The members of the Commission shall receive necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Funding to support activities of the Commission shall be provided by the Legislature. (Amended 1959, No. 126, § 1; 1983, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), §…

§ 205. Standing committees; administrative rulemaking delegation (a) Whenever a standing committee introduces or amends proposed legislation which delegates rulemaking authority to a State agency, the committee shall express in the legislation and, to the greatest extent possible…

§ 261. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Administrative action” means any action taken by an administrative official or by any agency, department, division, office, board, or commission of State government with regard to any proposal, drafting, development, or considerati…

§ 262. Exempted persons The following persons are exempt from the registration and reporting provisions of this chapter: (1) a person who engages in lobbying solely by testifying before committees of the General Assembly and agencies, departments, divisions, offices, boards, and …

§ 263. Registration of lobbyists and employers; fees (a) On forms provided by the Secretary of State, every lobbyist shall register with the Secretary of State before, or within 48 hours of, commencing lobbying activities. A lobbyist shall file a separate registration statement f…

§ 264. Reports of expenditures, compensation, and gifts; employers; lobbyists (a) Every employer and every lobbyist registered or required to be registered under this chapter shall file disclosure reports with the Secretary of State as follows: (1) on or before January 15, for th…

§ 264b. Lobbying firm listings; reports of expenditures, compensation, and gifts; lobbying firms (a) On forms provided by the Secretary of State, every lobbying firm shall file a listing of all lobbyists who are employed by, subcontracted by, members of, or affiliated with the lo…

§ 264c. Identification in and report of certain lobbying advertisements (a) Identification. (1) An advertisement that is intended, designed, or calculated to influence legislative action or to solicit others to influence legislative action and that is made at any time prior to fi…

§ 265. Submission of and access to lobbying disclosures (a) The Secretary of State shall provide on his or her website an online database of the lobbying disclosures required under this chapter. (1) In this database, the Secretary shall provide digital access to each form he or s…

§ 266. Prohibited conduct (a) It shall be prohibited conduct: (1) to employ a lobbyist or lobbying firm, or accept employment as a lobbyist or lobbying firm, for compensation that is dependent on a contingency; (2) for a legislator or administrative official to solicit a gift, ot…

§ 267a. Investigations The Attorney General shall investigate, on his or her own initiative or in response to a complaint filed in writing with the Attorney General, whether a violation of this chapter has occurred. The Attorney General may administer oaths, require filing of a s…

§ 268. Penalties; enforcement (a) The Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of this chapter, and may bring an action in Superior Court to ensure compliance and to obtain civil penalties in the amounts described in subsection (b) of this section. (b) The court may grant te…

§ 401. Creation and purpose The Office of Legislative Counsel is created as a permanent agency to serve the General Assembly with nonpartisan legislative drafting, research, and other professional legal and editorial services. (Added 1971, No. 204 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 31…

§ 402. Director and Chief Counsel; employees (a) The Joint Legislative Management Committee shall employ an individual to be the Director and Chief Counsel of the Office of Legislative Counsel. The Committee may conduct the hiring process itself or it may delegate this duty to a …

§ 403. Functions; confidentiality (a) The Office of Legislative Counsel shall provide legal services to the General Assembly and its staff, including: (1) drafting bills, resolutions, amendments, and other legal documents; (2) providing legal research and analysis in relation to …

§ 404. Budget The Director and Chief Counsel shall propose a budget for the Office of Legislative Counsel to the Joint Legislative Management Committee. (Added 1971, No. 204 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. March 31, 1972; amended 1973, No. 60, § 1, eff. May 13, 1973; 1981, No. 178 (Adj. …

§ 405. Intergovernmental cooperation For the purposes of carrying out its duties, the Office of Legislative Counsel shall have access to and the right to copy any public record of all executive, administrative, and judicial departments of the State, except income and franchise ta…

§ 421. Office of Legislative Counsel; statutory publication and revision duties (a) The Office of Legislative Counsel shall continuously maintain and update a formal topical revision of existing permanent statutory law to be known as the Vermont Statutes Annotated. The topical re…

§ 422. Contract for preparation of Vermont Statutes Annotated (a) The Office of Legislative Counsel shall contract with a competent legal publisher to revise and publish the Vermont Statutes Annotated. (b) The contract for publishing the Vermont Statutes Annotated shall provide f…

§ 423. Acceptance as evidence of law (a) The Office of Legislative Counsel shall require the contracted publisher to deliver the cumulative pocket parts and separate supplements to the Vermont Statutes Annotated prior to the convening of the next session of the General Assembly, …