2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 17 - Elections › Chapter 49 - Nominations › § 2414. Candidates for State and legislative office; disclosure form

§ 2414. Candidates for State and legislative office; disclosure form
(a) Each candidate for State office, State Senator, or State Representative shall file with the officer with whom consent of candidate forms are filed, along with his or her consent, a disclosure form prepared by the State Ethics Commission that contains the following information in regard to the previous calendar year:
(1) Each source, but not amount, of personal income of the candidate and of his or her spouse or domestic partner, and of the candidate together with his or her spouse or domestic partner, that totals more than $5,000.00, including any of the sources meeting that total described as follows:
(A) employment, including the employer or business name and address and, if self-employed, a description of the nature of the self-employment without needing to disclose any individual clients; and
(B) investments, described generally as “investment income.”
(2) Any board, commission, or other entity that is regulated by law or that receives funding from the State on which the candidate served and the candidate’s position on that entity.
(3) Any company of which the candidate or his or her spouse or domestic partner, or the candidate together with his or her spouse or domestic partner, owned more than 10 percent.
(4) Any lease or contract with the State held or entered into by:
(A) the candidate or his or her spouse or domestic partner; or
(B) a company of which the candidate or his or her spouse or domestic partner, or the candidate together with his or her spouse or domestic partner, owned more than 10 percent.
(b) In addition, if a candidate’s spouse or domestic partner is a lobbyist, the candidate shall disclose that fact and provide the name of his or her spouse or domestic partner and, if applicable, the name of his or her lobbying firm.
(c) In addition, each candidate for State office shall attach to the disclosure form described in subsection (a) of this section a copy of his or her most recent U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Form 1040; provided, however, that the candidate may redact from that form the following information:
(1) the candidate’s Social Security number and that of his or her spouse, if applicable;
(2) the names of any dependent and the dependent’s Social Security number; and
(3) the signature of the candidate and that of his or her spouse, if applicable.
(d)(1) A senatorial district clerk or representative district clerk who receives a disclosure form under this section shall forward a copy of the disclosure to the Secretary of State within three business days of receiving it.
(2)(A) The Secretary of State shall post a copy of any disclosure forms and tax returns he or she receives under this section on his or her official State website. The forms shall remain posted on the Secretary’s website until the date of the filing deadline for petition and consent forms for major party candidates for the statewide primary in the following election cycle.
(B) Prior to posting, the Secretary shall redact from a tax return the information permitted to be redacted under subsection (c) of this section, if the candidate fails to do so.
(e) As used in this section:
(1) “Domestic partner” means an individual with whom the candidate has an enduring domestic relationship of a spousal nature, as long as the candidate and the domestic partner:
(A) have shared a residence for at least six consecutive months;
(B) are at least 18 years of age;
(C) are not married to or considered a domestic partner of another individual;
(D) are not related by blood closer than would bar marriage under State law; and
(E) have agreed between themselves to be responsible for each other’s welfare.
(2) “Lobbyist” and “lobbying firm” shall have the same meanings as in 2 V.S.A. § 261. (Added 2017, No. 79, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2018; amended 2019, No. 67, § 10.)