Vermont ethics commission outlines municipal rollout, urges staffing and enforcement options

Christina Simret, executive director of the Vermont State Ethics Commission, told the Senate Government Operations Committee on Jan. 30 that the commission has shifted this year from setting municipal ethics rules to standing up services and support for municipalities as the Statewide Municipal Code of Ethics takes effect.

"The ethics commission is primarily a service based organization," Simret said, describing the commission's roles: receiving and referring complaints, offering advisory opinions, providing ethics advice and operating training.

Simret said the commission has seen a steady rise in contacts: when she began there were three formal complaints in a year; in 2023 the commission received 23 complaints and 47 complaint inquiries, and the office logged 23 requests for guidance. In January alone she said the office received 14 requests for guidance, 12 of them from municipal officials.

The commission is implementing a new online financial-disclosure system and expanded disclosure questions, Simret said, and has launched a 45-minute online training for municipal officials subject to the new statewide municipal code. "We are very steadily getting people taking it at a rate of between 80–95 per week," she said. Simret added that some municipalities are requiring everyone to take the training even where only a subset are legally required to do so.

As required by the new law, Simret said municipalities must appoint an ethics liaison to serve as the commission's local point of contact. "At this moment in time, we have a 160 plus ethics liaisons that have been appointed," she said, and the commission expects more names by the end of January.

The commission recommended a set of policy options for enforcement and support now that municipal ethics rules are in place. Simret described three approaches: leave investigation and enforcement to municipalities; create regional complaint boards; or have a state body hear complaints initially. The commission’s preferred model, she said, would allow municipal-level handling with access to a state review or appeals process.

Simret also urged increased staffing and funding. She said the commission still operates with two part-time employees and has requested two permanent positions in its budget: a legal counsel to handle investigations under the state code and a staff attorney to focus on municipal advice and training. "We are very understaffed," she said. "We have asked for legal counsel position and staff attorney position. One of those will be almost exclusively working on municipal issues."

Committee members stressed the practical challenges for small towns with limited personnel and resources to investigate complaints. Several senators urged the commission to explore independent third-party investigators or pooled resources; Simret said the commission has discussed pilot options including contracted mediators and possible grant support and suggested outreach to the Vermont Bar Association and philanthropic foundations.

Simret asked the committee to revisit protections against retaliation for people who file ethics complaints. She said language originally drafted to protect municipal complainants did not survive final floor action in the form the commission expected and that current protections are limited primarily to employees. "There are a number of municipal officials who call me and have concerns about retaliation," she said, urging reconsideration of broader protections.

On lobbying and disclosure rules, Simret and committee members said current lobbying disclosures provide incomplete information about who lobbyists represent and how they are funded. The commission recommended examining improvements to lobbying disclosure forms and candidate disclosure requirements, including more detail about family members or spouses who are lobbyists or who hold positions that could present conflicts.

Simret also noted a technical timing issue for the expanded financial-disclosure requirements: some new requirements have a Jan. 1, 2026 effective date only for candidates and not for certain executive officers, and she asked the committee to consider clarifying corrections and the commission’s ability to collect any resulting penalties.

The committee did not take votes at the Jan. 30 meeting. Members and the commission signaled several follow-up areas for the committee to consider this session, including funding the commission's staffing request, clarifying effective dates on disclosure rules, reconsidering retaliation protections for municipal complainants and reviewing models for complaint investigation and mediation.

The commission is scheduling voluntary Zoom orientations for appointed ethics liaisons and plans to circulate an FAQ. Simret said the commission will pilot mediation services if funding can be found and continues to encourage municipalities to contact the commission for guidance on specific situations such as recusal and contracting rules.