Vermont Statutes
Chapter 11 - State Officers and Employees Generally
§ 268. Boards and commissions; Sunset Advisory Commission

§ 268. Boards and commissions; Sunset Advisory Commission
(a) Creation.
(1) There is created the Sunset Advisory Commission to review existing State boards and commissions, to recommend the elimination of any board or commission that it deems no longer necessary or the revision of any of the powers and duties of a board or commission, and to recommend whether members of the boards and commissions should be entitled to receive per diem compensation.
(2) As used in this section, “State boards and commissions” means professional or occupational licensing boards or commissions, advisory boards or commissions, appeals boards, promotional boards, interstate boards, supervisory boards and councils, and any other boards or commissions of the State.
(b) Membership.
(1) The Commission shall be composed of the following six members:
(A) two current members of the House of Representatives who shall not both be from the same political party and one of whom shall be appointed co-chair, who shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House;
(B) two current members of the Senate, who shall not both be from the same political party and one of whom shall be appointed co-chair, who shall be appointed by the Committee on Committees; and
(C) two persons appointed by the Governor.
(2) Members shall be appointed at the beginning of each biennium. A member shall serve biennially and until his or her successor is appointed, except that a legislative member’s term on the Commission shall expire on the date he or she ceases to be a member of the General Assembly.
(c) Powers and duties. The Commission shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) Inventory; group; review schedule.
(A)(i) The Commission shall inventory all of the State boards and commissions, organize them into groups, and establish a schedule to conduct a review of one group each biennium.
(ii) The inventory shall include the names of the members of the State boards and commissions, their term length and expiration, and their appointing authority.
(B) The Commission shall provide its inventory of the State boards and commissions to the Secretary of State for the Secretary to maintain as set forth in section 116a of this title.
(2) Biennial review.
(A) Each biennium, the Commission shall review all of the State boards and commissions within one of its inventoried groups and shall take testimony regarding whether each of those boards and commissions should continue to operate or be eliminated and whether the powers and duties of any of those boards and commissions should be revised.
(B) In its review of each State board and commission, the Commission shall consider:
(i) the purpose of the board or commission and whether that purpose is still needed;
(ii) how well the board or commission performs in executing that purpose; and
(iii) if the purpose is still needed, whether State government would be more effective and efficient if the purpose were executed in a different manner.
(C) Each board and commission shall have the burden of justifying its continued operation.
(D) For any board or commission that the Commission determines should continue to operate, the Commission shall also determine whether members of that board or commission should be entitled to receive per diem compensation and if so, the amount of that compensation.
(3) Biennial report. On or before the end of the biennium during which it reviews a group, the Commission shall submit to the House and Senate Committees on Government Operations its findings, any recommendation to eliminate a State board or commission within that group or to revise the powers and duties of a board or commission within the group, its recommendations regarding board or commission member per diem compensation, and any other recommendations for legislative action. The Commission shall also specifically recommend whether there should be changes to the information the Secretary of State provides in his or her inventory of the State boards and commissions as set forth in 3 V.S.A. § 116a. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the report to be made under this subsection.
(d) Assistance. The Commission shall have the administrative, technical, and legal assistance of the Office of Legislative Counsel, the Office of Legislative Operations, the Joint Fiscal Office, and the Agency of Administration.
(e) Compensation and expense reimbursement.
(1) For attendance at meetings during adjournment of the General Assembly, a legislative member of the Commission shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses pursuant to 2 V.S.A. § 23 for not more than five meetings per year. These payments shall be made from monies appropriated to the General Assembly.
(2) Other members of the Commission shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses as permitted under 32 V.S.A. § 1010 for not more than five meetings per year. These payments shall be made from monies appropriated to the Agency of Administration. (Added 2018, No. 2 (Sp. Sess.), § 9; repealed on Jan. 4, 2023 by 2018, No. 2 (Sp. Sess.), § 11; 2019, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 18.)