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Lawmakers press for transparency on Vermont web portal fees and vendor contract
Summary
Rick Seigel of the Agency of Digital Services briefed the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on the statute that created the Vermont web portal board and answered questions about board composition, self‑funding, fee reporting, and where vendor‑collected fees are recorded.
Rick Seigel, counsel to the Agency of Digital Services (ADS), told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on April 29 that the Vermont web portal was established by statute in 2005 and is governed by an appointed board that is intended to operate as a self‑funded portal supported by transaction fees. Seigel walked the committee through the statutory definition, board membership, duties and the approval process for fees.
Seigel described the portal’s statutory purpose as “to increase at no cost to taxpayer the ease of accessing needed information,” and explained the law defines a “self funded web portal” and lists board membership and powers. The board oversees development of the portal, sets charges for services, works with ADS on implementation, may accept gifts and grants, and is charged with submitting fee information to oversight bodies.
Why it matters: Committee members raised several oversight and transparency questions. They asked where the web portal fees appear in state fee reports, whether fees are collected directly by the vendor as part of its contract compensation, what the portal contract contains, and whether the portal’s scope includes the entire vermont.gov landscape or is limited to specific agency services.
Seigel summarized statutory details: the web portal board was created in 2005 and amended in later years (including updates after ADS was created); the membership list includes executive‑branch designees, two legislative appointments and representatives from libraries and economic development; a quorum and affirmative vote of six members is required for board action; the board must meet at least semiannually; and beginning in 2012 web portal fees are to be reported and, every three years, included in the annual consolidated executive branch fee report under 32 VSA §605.
Committee members told Seigel they had difficulty locating web portal fee details in published fee reports and that minutes from the portal board show substantial contract review in executive session. Seigel said he could not produce the portal contract during the hearing but offered to request it from ADS and to gather the fee‑reporting documents the committee requested. Committee members also asked whether the portal’s statutory phrase “at no cost to taxpayer” is consistent with a vendor model that receives transaction fees and whether the board’s authority to accept gifts and grants had been used.
The exchange did not produce any formal committee votes. Committee members asked staff to provide written questions for ADS so the committee can obtain the vendor contract, fee totals for recent years, and clarifications about the portal’s technical and jurisdictional scope.
The committee scheduled follow‑up: Seigel agreed to provide written answers and to coordinate provision of the contract and fee reports to the committee for its next session with the ADS secretary.
