H 865

 BILL AS INTRODUCED  H.865
 2026  Page 1 of 3
1H.865
2 Introduced by Representatives Greer of Bennington, Galfetti of Barre Town,
3Boutin of Barre City, Campbell of St. Johnsbury, Casey of
4Montpelier, Cole of Hartford, Critchlow of Colchester, Eastes
5of Guilford, Gregoire of Fairfield, Headrick of Burlington,
6Keyser of Rutland City, Kleppner of Burlington, Malay of
7Pittsford, North of Ferrisburgh, Pritchard of Pawlet, Quimby of
8Lyndon, Sweeney of Shelburne, Taylor of Milton, and Wells of
9Brownington
10 Referred to Committee on
11 Date:
12 Subject: Executive; governmental ethics; disclosures; travel disclosures
13 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to require public
14 servants to file with the Ethics Commission disclosures detailing costs and
15 associated information for any travel made in course of the public servant’s
16 official capacity or because of the public servant’s status as a public servant.
17    An act relating to travel disclosures for public servants
18 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
19 Sec. 1. 3 V.S.A. § 1214 is added to read:
20 § 1214. PUBLIC SERVANTS; TRAVEL DISCLOSURES
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 2026  Page 2 of 3
1    (a) A public servant shall file with the Ethics Commission a disclosure
2 detailing costs and associated information for any travel made in course of the
3 public servant’s official capacity or because of the public servant’s status as a
4 public servant. As used in this section, traveling “because of a public servant’s
5 status” means that the travel would not have likely occurred but for the public
6 servant’s status as a public servant.
7    (b) A public servant shall disclose and designate:
8(1) whether the travel was purely in the public servant’s official capacity
9 or a mixture of official and private purposes;
10(2) any destination of travel, including any stopover or intentional visit
11 to another location prior to the destination of travel;
12(3) the declared purpose of the travel;
13(4) all costs associated with transportation to and from any destination,
14 and food, refreshments, tickets and admissions, entertainment, lodging, and
15 anything else of value, whether for cost or in-kind, associated with the travel;
16(5) which elements of associated travel costs were paid for or provided
17 by:
18(A) the State;
19(B) the public servant’s own person; or
20(C) any other sources, including associations, lobbyists, political
21 committees and parties, and individuals; and
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 BILL AS INTRODUCED  H.865
 2026  Page 3 of 3
1(6) an attestation to the veracity and completeness of the disclosed
2 information.
3    (c) A public servant shall file the disclosure with the Ethics Commission
4 within 30 calendar days after beginning the travel. If travel continues for more
5 than 30 calendar days, the public servant shall supplement the disclosure on a
6 weekly basis.
7    (d) Notwithstanding subsections (a)–(c) of this section, a public servant
8 shall not file a disclosure for any travel that constitutes regular commuting to
9 and from the public servant’s official place or places of work.
10 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE
11    This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.
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