The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 3: Executive

Chapter 009: Administrative Departments

• § 201. Repealed. 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 59, eff. March 1, 1961.

• § 202. Seals

  Each department or bureau, with the approval of the Governor, may adopt and have an official seal.

• § 203. Authority limited

  The commissioner or board at the head of each department herein specified shall exercise only the powers and perform the duties imposed by law on such Department.

• § 204. Disqualification

  A person holding an office under this chapter shall not be the owner of, or financially interested, directly or indirectly, in any corporation or association subject to the supervision of his or her respective department, except as a policy holder in an insurance company or a depositor in a bank.

• § 205. Duties of office

  Each commissioner of a department and each officer specified in this chapter, except the members of the boards herein specified, shall devote his or her entire time to the duties of his or her office.

• § 206. Regulations

  The commissioner or board at the head of each department herein specified is empowered to prescribe and to enforce rules and regulations, subject to the approval of the Governor, for the government and administration of such department, the conduct of its employees and the custody, use, and preservation of the records, books, documents, and property pertaining thereto.

• § 207. Assistance and expenditure

  (a) Each department herein specified is empowered to employ such assistance, clerical or otherwise, as the Governor deems necessary for its proper and efficient administration and, subject to his or her approval, to fix the compensation to be paid therefor. No department shall expend or authorize an expenditure in excess of the amount appropriated therefor in any fiscal year.

  (b) Agency secretaries and department heads are authorized to recruit, train and accept without regard to the civil service classification laws, rules and regulations, and without statutory compensation, the services of temporary volunteers for, or in aid of, interpretive function, visitor services, or other activities in and related to areas administered by the agency secretary or department head.

  (1) Except as provided in this section, a volunteer shall not be deemed a State employee and shall not be subject to the provisions of law relating to State employment and a collective bargaining agreement between the State of Vermont and the Vermont State Employees’ Association, Inc., including those relating to hours of work, rates of compensation, leave, and State employees benefits.

  (2) The consideration for volunteer services is education, training, and experience.

  (3) The appointing authority is authorized to provide reimbursement for such necessary incidental expenses as transportation, uniforms, lodging, and subsistence.

  (4) [Repealed.]

  (5) Volunteer services shall not be used to displace existing or vacant State positions but will be used to satisfy unmet public service needs. To insure compliance with the intent hereof and merit system principles, any department or agency employing temporary volunteers shall secure the approval of the Commissioner of Human Resources. (Amended 1973, No. 117, §§ 21, 22; 1989, No. 114, § 11(a)(1); 2003, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 15.)

• § 208. Repealed. 2003, No. 122 (Adj. Sess.), § 294a.

• § 209. Efficiency and cooperation; transfer of personnel; regulations of Governor

  The Governor shall provide for and require a practical working system to ensure efficiency and mutual helpfulness among the departments herein specified. The Governor may transfer, temporarily or permanently, subordinates of any one of such departments to another department as the needs of the State may seem to him or her to require. He or she shall adopt and have power to enforce such rules as he or she may see fit for the conduct of such departments and alter or add to the same in his or her discretion. (Amended 2015, No. 23, § 67.)

• § 210. Repealed. 1973, No. 101, § 6.

• § 211. Construction

  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to give to the head of any department any authority over the judicial or quasi-judicial acts or duties of any officer in his or her department.

• § 212. Departments created

  The following administrative departments are hereby created, through the instrumentality of which the Governor, under the Constitution, shall exercise such functions as are by law assigned to each department respectively:

  (1) The Department of Mental Health

  (2) [Repealed.]

  (3) The Department of Financial Regulation

  (4) The Department of Corrections

  (5) The Department of Housing and Community Development

  (6), (7) [Repealed.]

  (8) The Department of Fish and Wildlife

  (9) The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation

  (10) The Department of Health

  (11) [Repealed.]

  (12) The Department of Labor

  (13) The Department of Libraries

  (14) The Department of Liquor and Lottery

  (15) [Repealed.]

  (16) The Military Department

  (17) The Department of Motor Vehicles

  (18) The Department of Public Safety

  (19) The Department of Public Service

  (20) The Department for Children and Families

  (21) The Department of Taxes

  (22) The Department of Environmental Conservation

  (23) The Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living

  (24) The Department of Vermont Health Access. (Added 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. March 1, 1961; amended 1967, No. 71, § 2; 1967, No. 106, § 2; 1969, No. 207 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. March 24, 1970; 1969, No. 226 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 31, 1970; 1981, No. 66, § 1, eff. May 1, 1981; 1983, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), eff. April 13, 1984; 1987, No. 76, § 18; 1987, No. 243 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1989, No. 187 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 1989, No. 225 (Adj. Sess.), § 25; 1989, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; 1995, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1995, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), § 38(a); 1999, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2005, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 5, 2006; 2005, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 2, 140; 2007, No. 15, § 1a; 2011, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 2, 2012; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 246, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 97; 2015, No. 23, § 139; 2018, No. 1 (Sp. Sess.), § 106.)

• § 213. Declaration of policy

  (a) It is the policy of the State of Vermont that the Executive Branch of the State government created by the constitution shall be organized into the separate offices of the elected constitutional State officers and such administrative agencies and departments as may be created by law. All administrative bodies in the Executive Branch shall be placed within one of the foregoing agencies or departments to assure proper executive supervision by the Governor.

  (b) It is also the policy of the State of Vermont that, for the purpose of clarity and uniformity, all agencies of the Executive Branch of the State government shall be headed by secretaries; that all administrative departments of the Executive Branch of the State government shall be headed by commissioners; that all major divisions of administrative departments shall be known as divisions and shall be headed by a director; that the major groups within the administrative departments shall be known as boards and that all other groups within the department shall be known as councils. (Added 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; eff. March 1, 1961; amended 1987, No. 243 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 13, 1988.)

• § 214. Delegation of authority

  A secretary, commissioner, or director may delegate any authority, power, or duty other than a specific statutory authority of the office to a designee; and a board or council in its discretion and with the approval of the Governor may delegate to the commissioner of the department any of its authority, power, or duty other than a specific statutory authority except those necessary to its rulemaking and quasi-judicial functions. (Added 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. March 1, 1961; amended 1987, No. 243 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. June 13, 1988.)

• § 215. Commissioner, member of councils

  The Commissioner of each department shall be ex officio a member of all councils within the department. However, he or she shall not vote unless otherwise provided by law and shall not participate as a member of a council in matters involving the quasi-judicial functions of the council relative to administrative decisions of the department except as otherwise provided by law. The Commissioner or his or her representative shall attend all meetings of the councils within the department. (Added 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. March 1, 1961.)

• § 216. Boards and commissions; party representative

  Unless otherwise provided, no board or commission appointed by the Governor, whether or not with the advice and consent of the Senate, may be composed entirely of persons from one political party. (Added 1969, No. 54, § 1, eff. April 10, 1969.)

• § 217. Passenger vehicles; sale

  (a) No State department or agency, board, or commission, except the Governor, the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services, and the Commissioners of the Departments of Fish and Wildlife and of Public Safety for use of employees who are sworn law enforcement officers, may maintain or provide passenger vehicles, subject to such exceptions as may be made by the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services in circumstances where there is documented evidence of necessity based upon the requirements or conditions of individual State programs.

  (b) The Department of Buildings and General Services of the Agency of Administration shall dispose of all cars owned by the State except those cars that are determined by the Secretary of Administration to be necessary to the operations of individual State programs under subsection (a) of this section. All money that has been budgeted in any fiscal year for the maintenance of those vehicles and the proceeds from the sale of those vehicles shall be applied to the future replacement of the State fleet. Any unspent balance shall revert to the General Fund.

  (c) The Commissioner of Buildings and General Services shall purchase and lease vehicles for the State Fleet subject to the requirements of 29 V.S.A. § 903(g). (Added 1975, No. 118, § 62, eff. April 30, 1975; amended 1983, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), eff. April 13, 1984; 1989, No. 210 (Adj. Sess.), § 42; 1995, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 4(c)(2), eff. May 6, 1996; 2003, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 44, eff. June 8, 2004; 2019, No. 59, § 42.)

• § 218. Agency and department records management program

  (a) The General Assembly finds that public records are essential to the administration of State and local government. Public records contain information that allows government programs to function, provides officials with a basis for making decisions, and ensures continuity with past operations. Public records document the legal responsibilities of government, help protect the rights of citizens, and provide citizens a means of monitoring government programs and measuring the performance of public officials. Public records provide documentation for the functioning of government and for the retrospective analysis of the development of Vermont government and the impact of programs on citizens. Public records in general and archival records in particular need to be systematically managed to preserve their legal, historic, and informational value, to provide ready access to vital information, and to promote the efficient and economical operation of government.

  (b) The head of each State agency or department shall establish, maintain, and implement an active and continuing program approved by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration for the effective management, preservation, and disposition of records, regardless of their physical form or characteristics, for which that head is responsible.

  (c) For an agency or department records program to be approved by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, the head of each State agency or department shall:

  (1) establish and maintain an accurate inventory of all records;

  (2) develop justifiable retention periods for all records;

  (3) dispose promptly of those records authorized for destruction by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration;

  (4) establish and maintain accurate records indicating the identity and quantity of all records destroyed, the savings in space and equipment, and any money savings resulting from the disposal of such records;

  (5) establish and maintain other records related to management of the agency’s or department’s records as required by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration;

  (6) provide for furnishing to the State Archives, such special reports regarding the records of the agency or department as the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration may deem necessary;

  (7) process, store, and preserve records kept by the agency or department in an efficient and economical manner;

  (8) where practicable, consolidate or eliminate existing records of the agency or department and control the creation of new records;

  (9) maintain the records of the agency or department in a manner that permits the prompt and orderly removal of records authorized for destruction; and

  (10) implement and sustain a record schedule in accordance with requirements established by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration under section 117 of this title and the Agency of Digital Services under chapter 56 of this title.

  (d) The head of each State agency or department shall designate a member of his or her staff as the records officer for his or her agency or department, and shall notify the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration in writing of the name and title of the person designated, and shall post the name and contact information of the person on the agency or department website, if one exists.

  (e) The Vermont State Archives and Records Administration shall approve all agency record schedules, as defined by section 117 of this title, unless set forth in a general record schedule issued by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration. Authorizations by the Public Records Advisory Board regarding the disposition of public records shall remain in effect until superseded by a record schedule issued or approved by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration. (Added 1975, No. 118, § 63, eff. April 30, 1975; amended 1979, No. 56, § 1; 1995, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 4(c)(2), eff. May 6, 1996; 2003, No. 3, § 2; 2007, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2009, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 6, 2010; 2011, No. 59, § 8; 2019, No. 49, § 1, eff. June 10, 2019.)

• § 219. Repealed. 2009, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. May 6, 2010.

• § 220. Classified employees in exempt positions

  (a) A State employee in the classified service, upon appointment to an exempt position, may request an indefinite leave of absence without pay from his or her classified position for so long as he or she remains in the exempt position. Upon approval in writing by the administrative head of the agency, department or like instrumentality in which the employee is serving, and upon concurrence by the Commissioner of Human Resources, the employee may enter the exempt position with rights determined under this section.

  (b) During service in the exempt position, and if the approved request so specifies, the employee’s rights to sick leave and rights under retirement and insurance plans shall be continued.

  (c) Upon leaving the exempt position, the employee shall not have a guarantee of returning to his or her former position, nor to any other classified position. However, where the employee has at least 10 years of classified service, the Commissioner of Human Resources shall provide for the employee to be offered a position in the classified service, but not necessarily the former position, at the same or lower paygrade as the position previously held, provided the employee was not dismissed from the exempt position for cause. Any such offer of employment shall be made within 30 days of separation from the exempt position. For such employees entering the exempt service after July 1, 1994, their approved request for a leave of absence shall specify a request to return. Otherwise, the employee may be offered a classified position in State government if:

  (1) the employee’s approved request specifies a right to return to classified service;

  (2) the classified position is vacant and is at the same or a lower pay grade as the employee’s previous classified position; and

  (3) the employee possesses the minimum qualifications required in the specification for that position class.

  (d) If an employee accepts an offer of employment under subsection (c) of this section, and if the employee’s approved request so specifies, the employee shall be entitled to the benefits of any increments to which he or she would have been entitled by reason of continuous service in a classified position, but for the appointment to the exempt position.

  (e) Subject to the approval of the Governor, a classified employee who has satisfactorily completed any required probationary period, may be permitted to accept an assignment or appointment to fulfill the duties of an exempt position for a brief period of time, not to exceed one year, without having to resign or take a leave of absence from the classified service. Any such employee shall be compensated in accordance with compensation provisions applicable to the exempt position. (Added 1987, No. 243 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. June 13, 1988; amended 1993, No. 227 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 15, 16; 2003, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 15.)

• § 221. Hearing officers; rules

  (a) The Secretary of Administration shall adopt a rule to establish guidelines and oversight for hearing officers in the Executive Branch. As used in this section, “hearing officer” means a person employed by the State of Vermont whose exclusive duty is to resolve contested cases when a decision of an Executive Branch agency is challenged.

  (b) The rule adopted pursuant to this section shall include provisions addressing the following topics:

  (1) The rule shall include ethical standards for hearing officers. The ethical standards:

  (A) may be based on the Model Code of Judicial Conduct for State Administrative Law Judges developed by the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary;

  (B) shall be made readily accessible to the public and to parties in administrative proceedings; and

  (C) shall include provisions related to bias, impartiality and the appearance of impartiality, conflicts of interest, recusal and disqualification, confidentiality, and ex parte communications.

  (2) The rule shall require the agency or department that employs the hearing officer to designate procedures for the receipt, consideration, and determination of complaints about the conduct of hearing officers. The procedures shall be provided to all parties in the matter.

  (3) The rule shall ensure that all parties in proceedings presided over by a hearing officer are provided with a copy of the rules of procedure that apply to the proceedings. The rules shall prominently and specifically describe any appeal rights a party has and the procedure for filing an appeal. (Added 2013, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. June 11, 2014.)