The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
003
:
STATE ETHICS COMMISSION
(Cite as: 3 V.S.A. § 1222)
-
§ 1222. Commission member prohibited conduct
(a) Conflicts of interest.
(1) Prohibition; recusal.
(A) A Commission member shall not participate in any Commission matter in which he or
she has a conflict of interest and shall recuse himself or herself from participation
in that matter.
(B) The failure of a Commission member to recuse himself or herself as described in subdivision
(A) of this subdivision (1) may be grounds for the Commission to discipline or remove
that member.
(2) Disclosure of conflict of interest.
(A) A Commission member who has reason to believe he or she has a conflict of interest
in a Commission matter shall disclose that he or she has that belief and disclose
the nature of the conflict of interest. Alternatively, a Commission member may request
that another Commission member recuse himself or herself from a Commission matter
due to a conflict of interest.
(B) Once there has been a disclosure of a member’s conflict of interest, members of the
Commission shall be afforded the opportunity to ask questions or make comments about
the situation to address the conflict.
(C) A Commission member may be prohibited from participating in a Commission matter by
at least three other members of the Commission.
(3) Postrecusal or -prohibition procedure. A Commission member who has recused himself or herself or was prohibited from participating
in a Commission matter shall not sit or deliberate with the Commission or otherwise
act as a Commission member on that matter.
(4) Definition. As used in this subsection, “conflict of interest” means an interest of a member that
is in conflict with the proper discharge of his or her official duties due to a significant
personal or financial interest of the member, of a person within the member’s immediate
family, or of the member’s business associate. “Conflict of interest” does not include
any interest that is not greater than that of any other persons generally affected
by the outcome of a matter.
(b) Gifts. A Commission member shall not accept a gift given by virtue of his or her membership
on the Commission. (Added 2017, No. 79, § 7, eff. Jan. 1, 2018; amended 2023, No. 171 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. July 1, 2025.)