Vermont attorney general asks Senate appropriations committee for four new positions, cites staffing complexity and consumer program wins

Attorney General Charity Clark on Tuesday asked the Senate Appropriations Committee to approve four new permanent positions for the attorney general’s office and walked lawmakers through the office’s complicated personnel structure and recent enforcement receipts.

Clark told the committee the office is seeking funding for four positions: an appellate assistant attorney general in the appellate unit, a base-funded “big tech” assistant attorney general focused on consumer and data-security cases, an administrator to run the precharge (pre-arrest) program created under Act 180, and a full-time home‑improvement specialist embedded in the Consumer Assistance Program (CAP).

The request is part of the governor’s proposed budget that includes a 6.1% general-fund increase for the attorney general’s office, Clark said. She described the office’s personnel as unusually complex: “we have 92 positions on our payroll, but 55 positions are embedded in agencies,” and the office manages 47 positions statewide. Clark said much of the requested increase reflects personnel costs outside the office’s direct control, such as health insurance and pay-act adjustments.

Clark highlighted the home‑improvement specialist role at CAP as a notable success. The specialist, Ariel Taylor Marsh, who previously worked as a paralegal and as a contractor, has recovered $687,000 for Vermonters since the position was created, Clark said. Clark said the role also provides outreach and education to contractors and consumers and recommended making the position permanent.

On the precharge program, Clark said Act 180 requires statewide administration and the office needs an additional position to implement the law beyond current local programs. She said the expansion will allow communities that currently lack precharge options to refer appropriate low-level cases to community-based diversion instead of the formal court process.

Clark also described a line-item change in how the Internet Crimes Against Children task force (ICAC) spending is classified — moved from operating to personal services — and a reduction in operating costs tied to the end of one large litigation’s Everlaw subscription, which Clark said was approximately $122,000 on the books and removed after settlement.

Lawmakers asked for additional detail. Senator Brown asked whether the attorney general defends every law challenged in court; Clark replied, “We do. We do. We defend the state when the state is sued.” Committee members also pressed about how settlement receipts flow to the state; Clark and staff described a multi-step distribution in which receipts first replenish the office’s available spending authority and any remaining transfers are subject to legislative action.

Clark closed by flagging the Consumer Assistance Program and its partnership with the University of Vermont as a resource for constituents with consumer problems, including an urgent response protocol for residents who report no propane service.

Overall, Clark urged the committee to view the four requested positions as targeted investments that will produce both consumer protections and fiscal returns through enforcement recoveries and avoided costs.