Public Financing Option

V.S.A. tit. 17, ch. 61, subch. 5

in effect

17 V.S.A. § 2981 Definitions

2981. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) “Affidavit” means the Vermont campaign finance affidavit required under section 2982 of this chapter. (2) “General election period” means the period beginning the day after the primary election and ending the day of the general election. (3) “Primary election period” means the period beginning the day after primary petitions must be filed under section 2356 of this title and ending the day of the primary election. (4) “Vermont campaign finance qualification period” means the period beginning February 15 of each even-numbered year and ending on the date on which primary petitions must be filed under section 2356 of this title. Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 23, 2014.

17 V.S.A. § 2982 Filing of Vermont campaign finance affidavit

2982. Filing of Vermont campaign finance affidavit (a) A candidate for the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor who intends to seek Vermont campaign finance grants from the Secretary of State Services Fund shall file a Vermont campaign finance affidavit on the date on or before which primary petitions must be filed, whether the candidate seeks to enter a party primary or is an independent candidate. (b) The Secretary of State shall prepare a Vermont campaign finance affidavit form, informational materials on procedures and financial requirements, and notification of the penalties for violation of this subchapter. (c)(1) The Vermont campaign finance affidavit shall set forth the conditions of receiving grants under this subchapter and provide space for the candidate to agree that he or she will abide by such conditions and all expenditure and contribution limitations, reporting requirements, and other provisions of this chapter. (2) The affidavit shall also state the candidate’s name, legal residence, business or occupation, address of business or occupation, party affiliation, if any, the office sought, and whether the candidate intends to enter a party primary. (3) The affidavit shall also contain a list of all the candidate’s qualifying contributions together with the name and town of residence of the contributor and the date each contribution was made. (4) The affidavit may further require affirmation of such other information as deemed necessary by the Secretary of State for the administration of this subchapter. (5) The affidavit shall be sworn and subscribed to by the candidate. Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 23, 2014.

17 V.S.A. § 2983 Vermont campaign finance grants; conditions

2983. Vermont campaign finance grants; conditions (a) A person shall not be eligible for Vermont campaign finance grants if, prior to February 15 of the general election year during any two-year general election cycle, he or she becomes a candidate by announcing that he or she seeks an elected position as Governor or Lieutenant Governor or by accepting contributions totaling $2,000.00 or more or by making expenditures totaling $2,000.00 or more. (b) A candidate who accepts Vermont campaign finance grants shall: (1) not solicit, accept, or expend any contributions except qualifying contributions, Vermont campaign finance grants, and contributions authorized under section 2985 of this chapter, which contributions may be solicited, accepted, or expended only in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter; (2) deposit all qualifying contributions, Vermont campaign finance grants, and any contributions accepted in accordance with the provisions of section 2985 of this chapter in a federally insured noninterest-bearing checking account; and (3) not later than 40 days after the general election, deposit in the Secretary of State Services Fund, after all permissible expenditures have been paid, the balance of any amounts remaining in the account established under subdivision (2) of this subsection. Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 23, 2014.

17 V.S.A. § 2984 Qualifying contributions

2984. Qualifying contributions (a) In order to qualify for Vermont campaign finance grants, a candidate for the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor shall obtain during the Vermont campaign finance qualification period the following amount and number of qualifying contributions for the office being sought: (1) for Governor, a total amount of no less than $35,000.00 collected from no fewer than 1,500 qualified individual contributors making a contribution of no more than $50.00 each; or (2) for Lieutenant Governor, a total amount of no less than $17,500.00 collected from no fewer than 750 qualified individual contributors making a contribution of no more than $50.00 each. (b) A candidate shall not accept more than one qualifying contribution from the same contributor and a contributor shall not make more than one qualifying contribution to the same candidate in any Vermont campaign finance qualification period. For the purpose of this section, a qualified individual contributor means an individual who is registered to vote in Vermont. No more than 25 percent of the total number of qualified individual contributors may be residents of the same county. (c) Each qualifying contribution shall indicate the name and town of residence of the contributor and the date accepted and be acknowledged by the signature of the contributor. (d) A candidate may retain and expend qualifying contributions obtained under this section. A candidate may expend the qualifying contributions for the purpose of obtaining additional qualifying contributions and may expend the remaining qualifying contributions during the primary and general election periods. Amounts expended under this subsection shall be considered expenditures for purposes of this chapter. Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 23, 2014.

17 V.S.A. § 2985 Vermont campaign finance grants; amounts; timing

2985. Vermont campaign finance grants; amounts; timing (a)(1) The Secretary of State shall make grants from the Secretary of State Services Fund in separate grants for the primary and general election periods to candidates who have qualified for Vermont campaign finance grants under this subchapter. (2) To cover any campaign finance grants to candidates who have qualified under this subchapter, the Secretary of State shall report to the Commissioner of Finance and Management, who shall anticipate receipts to the Services Fund and issue warrants to pay for those grants. The Commissioner shall report any such anticipated receipts and warrants issued under this subdivision to the Joint Fiscal Committee on or before December 1 of the year in which the warrants were issued. (b) Whether a candidate has entered a primary or is an independent candidate, Vermont campaign finance grants shall be in the following amounts: (1) For Governor, $150,000.00 in a primary election period and $450,000.00 in a general election period, provided that the grant for a primary election period shall be reduced by an amount equal to the candidate’s qualifying contributions. (2) For Lieutenant Governor, $50,000.00 in a primary election period and $150,000.00 in a general election period, provided that the grant for a primary election period shall be reduced by an amount equal to the candidate’s qualifying contributions; (3) A candidate who is an incumbent of the office being sought shall be entitled to receive a grant in an amount equal to 85 percent of the amount listed in subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection. (c) In an uncontested general election and in the case of a candidate who enters a primary election and is unsuccessful in that election, an otherwise eligible candidate shall not be eligible for a general election period grant. However, such candidate may solicit and accept contributions and make expenditures as follows: contributions shall be subject to the limitations set forth in subchapter 3 of this chapter, and expenditures shall be limited to an amount equal to the amount of the grant set forth in subsection (b) of this section for the general election for that office. (d) Grants awarded in a primary election period but not expended by the candidate in the primary election period may be expended by the candidate in the general election period. (e) Vermont campaign finance grants for a primary election period shall be paid to qualifying candidates within the first 10 business days of the primary election period. Vermont campaign finance grants for a general election period shall be paid to qualifying candidates during the first 10 business days of the general election period. Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 23, 2014.

17 V.S.A. § 2986 Monetary amounts adjusted for inflation

2986. Monetary amounts adjusted for inflation The monetary amounts contained in sections 2983-2985 of this subchapter shall be adjusted for inflation pursuant to the Consumer Price Index as provided in section 2905 of this chapter. Added 2013, No. 90 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Jan. 23, 2014.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/17/061Fetched: 10/21/2026