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House amends ethics law to preserve constitutional independence of legislative and judicial complaint panels
Summary
Representative Morgan presented an amended House Bill 1 that alters the consultation process between the State Ethics Commission and legislative and judicial bodies, making commission advice confidential and nonbinding and clarifying referral procedures to avoid constitutional conflicts; amendment passed and third reading was ordered.
The Vermont House on March 13 amended House Bill 1 to address constitutional concerns arising from last year's ethics legislation, following a committee report from Representative Morgan of Milton.
H 1 is a technical, corrective bill responding to constitutional issues identified after enactment of the 2024 ethics act (H 875). Under last year's law, the State Ethics Commission was required to consult in writing with legislative ethics panels and judicial disciplinary boards prior to those entities making determinations on complaints. Committee testimony and constitutional review found that requirement could intrude on the exclusive constitutional authority of each legislative chamber to judge its members and the Vermont Supreme Court's disciplinary authority over judicial officers and attorneys.
Representative Morgan said the amended bill requires the ethics commission to include, when it refers a complaint, a written statement specifying the commission's view on how the state code of ethics applies to the complaint and a recommended action. It also clarifies that when the commission provides advice during consultation, that advice is confidential and nonbinding on the receiving legislative or judicial entity. The revised language applies parallel rules to the House and Senate ethics panels and to judicial boards that handle judicial conduct and attorney discipline (the Judicial Conduct Board and the Professional Responsibility Board).
Committee members testified and the bill drew input from the chairs of the relevant judicial boards, legislative counsel, the executive director of the Vermont State Ethics Commission and other stakeholders. The committee's amendment is a strike-all replacement to reformat and expand the consultation language; the committee reported the amendment favorably and the House adopted the committee amendment by voice vote and ordered third reading.
The bill's effective date is September 1 of the same year, and it supersedes conflicting provisions in last year's act.
