The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 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.
Title 17 : Elections
Chapter 061 : Campaign Finance
Subchapter 004 : REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; DISCLOSURES.
(Cite as: 17 V.S.A. § 2971)-
§ 2971. Report of mass media activities
(a)(1) In addition to any other reports required to be filed under this chapter, a person who makes expenditures for any one mass media activity totaling $500.00 or more, adjusted for inflation pursuant to the Consumer Price Index as provided in section 2905 of this chapter, within 45 days before a primary, general, county, or local election shall, for each activity, file a mass media report with the Secretary of State and send a copy of the report to each candidate whose name or likeness is included in the activity without that candidate’s knowledge.
(2) The copy of the mass media report shall be sent by e-mail to each such candidate who has provided the Secretary of State with an e-mail address on his or her consent form and to any other such candidate by mail.
(3) The mass media report shall be filed and the copy of the report shall be sent within 24 hours of the expenditure or activity, whichever occurs first. For the purposes of this section, a person shall be treated as having made an expenditure if the person has executed a contract to make the expenditure.
(b) The report shall identify the person who made the expenditure; the name of each candidate whose name or likeness was included in the activity; the amount and date of the expenditure; to whom it was paid; and the purpose of the expenditure.
(c) If the activity occurs within 45 days before the election and the expenditure was previously reported, an additional report shall be required under this section.
[Subsection (d) as amended by 2015, No. 30, § 37; see also subsection (d) as contingently amended by 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 4 set out below.]
(d)(1) In addition to the reporting requirements of this section, an independent expenditure-only political committee that makes an expenditure for any one mass media activity totaling $5,000.00 or more, adjusted for inflation pursuant to the Consumer Price Index as provided in section 2905 of this chapter, within 45 days before a primary, general, county, or local election shall, for each such activity and within 24 hours of the expenditure or activity, whichever occurs first, file an independent expenditure-only political committee mass media report with the Secretary of State and send a copy of the report to each candidate whose name or likeness is included in the activity without that candidate’s knowledge.
(2) The copy of the mass media report shall be sent by e-mail to each such candidate who has provided the Secretary of State with an e-mail address on his or her consent form and to any other such candidate by mail.
(3) The report shall include all of the information required under subsection (b) of this section, as well as the names of the contributors, dates, and amounts for all contributions in excess of $100.00 accepted since the filing of the committee’s last report.
[Subsection (d) as contingently amended by 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; see also subsection (d) as amended by 2015, No. 30, § 37 set out above..]
(d) [Repealed.] (Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 23, 2014; amended 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, cont. eff; 2015, No. 30, § 37, eff. May 26, 2015.)
