Senate committee weighs who should host candidate disclosure forms, agrees to delay penalties for this cycle

Shay Waters Evans, a House Government Operations and Military Affairs representative, told the Senate Government Operations Committee on May 6 that the House amended bill assigns the Vermont Ethics Commission to host the candidate financial disclosure form while the Secretary of State would link to it, a compromise the committee discussed at length.

The compromise grew from disagreement about what the statute phrase “create and maintain” requires. Evans said the Ethics Commission’s role would be to host the form and answer questions about completing it; the Secretary of State would continue to handle election administration tasks. “We thought the ethics commission would host these forms…and the Secretary of State’s office just make sure they’re linking to those forms,” Evans said, arguing hosting in one place would avoid conflicting versions of forms or FAQs.

Committee members raised practical concerns about that approach. Several senators, including Senator Clarkson and others, said most voters look to the Secretary of State’s website for candidate information and that having crucial candidate materials split between sites could confuse the public. One senator said filled forms will be posted, but locating blank forms and guidance is primarily a candidate concern. Another member said town clerks had been given forms to distribute, producing new operational questions and contributing to confusion about which office should provide guidance.

Privacy and access were central themes. A senator asked whether the new form requires sensitive details—home and workplace addresses and spouse information—and urged discussing redaction or reduced disclosure for candidates with safety concerns. “We are asking them for private information…it's public and I wonder if your committee discussed redacting that information,” the senator said, noting concerns that disclosure requirements could deter people from running for office.

On penalties, the committee discussed a House amendment that would postpone, for one year, financial penalties tied to candidate filing errors rather than suspend them indefinitely. Evans described that change as a voter-protection measure intended to avoid creating barriers to candidacy while the administrative issues are resolved: “postponing…for a year. Not suspending indefinitely…we don’t want to create barriers to running for office.”

Members also debated whether agencies or private counsel should advise filers. Committee members noted ethics staff and Secretary of State staff cannot give individualized legal advice and warned that directing candidates to hire attorneys would create financial and logistical barriers to participation. The committee discussed alternatives—posting a single authoritative form and guidance online and encouraging candidates to “fill it out to the best of your ability” this cycle if no regulatory home is settled.

The Vermont Ethics Commission representative told the committee the commission lacks staff capacity to absorb broad election-advisory duties but had posted the form on its website after learning the Secretary of State had distributed a version to town clerks. The representative urged the legislature to reconsider assigning duties the commission cannot staff and emphasized the commission’s limited ability to offer detailed, case-specific guidance.

No formal vote was taken in committee on May 6. Members discussed options ranging from the House compromise (Ethics Commission hosting with Secretary of State links) to temporarily removing the form for this election cycle and restoring it by statute later. The committee took a short recess to consult on drafts and follow-up edits before returning to the agenda.