Questions? Reach out to us at ethicscommission@vermont.gov.
Act 171 (H.875), an Act establishing a municipal ethics framework in Vermont, went into effect on June 10th, 2024.
The Act establishes a statewide municipal code of ethics and allows the State Ethics Commission to provide municipalities with free training and advisory services. It also requires municipalities to investigate and record ethics complaints, which can be filed either with the municipality or with the Ethics Commission (complaints filed with the Ethics Commission will be referred to the municipality for investigation); to appoint an Ethics Liaison (an existing employee or select board member) to receive complaints and serve as a point of contact for the Ethics Commission; and for municipal officers to complete a free basic ethics training, which will be available through the Ethics Commission's website by December 31, 2024 (the training requirement does not go into effect until September 30th, 2025).
The primary purpose of the bill is to set minimum statewide standards while allowing municipalities to adopt supplemental (or maintain existing) ethics policies that do not conflict with the statewide code, and develop individualized policies and procedures related to complaint investigation and tracking. Many municipalities may already have such policies or procedures in place. The majority of the provisions of the bill related to municipal ethics, including the municipal code of ethics and the training requirement, do not go into effect until January 1, 2025 or later.
The Ethics Commission is in the process of developing materials to help municipalities better understand the bill's requirements and how to comply with them. Please check back over the coming months for additional guidance and documents related to H.875. In the meantime, municipalities may find the below information helpful.
Act 171 Preparation Checklist for Municipalities
1. Appoint an Ethics Liaison to communicate with the State Ethics Commission and send an email with liaison’s name and contact information to ethicscommission@vermont.gov. The Ethics Liaison must be appointed within 30 days of January 1, 2025.
2. Post a copy of the Municipal Code of Ethics and any municipal-specific ethics policies on the municipality’s website.
3. Post the municipality’s ethics complaint investigation ordinance, rule, policy, or procedure on the municipality’s website.
4. If the municipality does not already have a complaint investigation ordinance, rule, policy, or procedure in place, it must adopt one. Municipalities may want to survey their existing complaint policies, including those adopted in response to the requirements of §24 V.S.A. 1984, as a starting point. The Ethics Commission will publish a “best practices” informational guide for complaint investigations in the next few weeks.
5. Encourage all municipal officers to take the Ethics Commission’s free online training. The training is required for members of legislative bodies, quasi-judicial bodies, chief administrative officers, mayors and town or city managers. However, the Ethics Commission recommends that all municipal officers subject to the statewide Municipal Code of Ethics take the training. The training will be posted on the Ethics Commission’s website by early January 2025 and is approximately one hour long. Upon completion of the training, trainees will receive an email documenting that they have completed the training.
6. Make sure municipal officials know they can call or email the Ethics Commission for confidential ethics advice.
Municipal Ethics Resources
Understanding the Municipal Provisions of Act 171 (H.875)
- Final version of Act 171 (H.875), as passed by the House and Senate.
- Quick summary of Act 171 (H.875), drafted by the Ethics Commission.
- An overview of how to approach conflicts of interest and the recusal process.
Documents to be Posted on Municipal Websites
Act 171 (H.875) requires municipalities to post certain information on their websites, or make such information available upon request if the municipality has no website: (1) procedures adopted by the municipality for the investigation and enforcement of complaints, (2) any supplemental or additional ordinances, rules, and personnel policies regarding ethics adopted by a municipality, and (3) a copy of the Municipal Code of Ethics. Below, you can find Word and PDF versions of the Municipal Code of Ethics that can be downloaded to help meet this requirement.
Sample Administrative Documents
- Sample Complaint Tracker. Municipalities can download, modify, and use the sample complaint tracker to record ethics complaints. Municipalities are not required to use the sample tracker, it is only meant to serve as an example document.
- Sample Training Tracker. Municipalities can download, modify, and use the sample training tracker record completed ethics trainings. Municipalities are not required to use the sample tracker, it is only meant to serve as an example document.
- Sample Municipal Complaint Form Municipalities can download, modify, and use the sample complaint form. Municipalities are not required to use the sample form, it is only meant to serve as an example document.
Report: A Proposed Municipal Ethics Framework for Vermont
In November and December 2023 the State Ethics Commission received public comments, recommendations, and suggestions from all interested persons regarding municipal ethics in Vermont. This effort was to help inform the Commission’s development of a proposed municipal ethics framework for Vermont pursuant to H.125 (Act 53). The report was submitted to the Legislature on January 15th, 2024.
Virtual Listening Sessions: Municipal Ethics in Vermont
The Vermont State Ethics Commission held virtual listening sessions via Zoom on November 7, 21 and 28, 2023 to receive public comments, recommendations, and suggestions from all interested persons regarding municipal ethics in Vermont. This effort was to help inform the Commission’s development of a proposed municipal ethics framework pursuant to H.125 (Act 53), which required the Commission to submit recommendations on municipal ethics to the legislature on or before Jan. 15th, 2024.
To view the recordings of each of the listening sessions, click the link below:
November 7, 2023 (for members of the public)
November 21, 2023 (for municipal officials)
November 28, 2023 (for people who were unable to attend either of the earlier listening sessions)
Municipal Ethics Listening Session Handout