When Vermont's 2014 Act 90 repealed the old campaign finance contribution limits with one effective date and added new limits with a different effective date in 2015, what limits applied during the gap?

Plain-English summary

Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos asked then-Attorney General Bill Sorrell whether campaign contribution limits were in effect during the 2014 election cycle, after Act 90 was passed in 2013 to overhaul Vermont's campaign finance law. Act 90 had two relevant effective dates: it repealed the old contribution limits effective January 23, 2014, and added new limits effective January 1, 2015. The literal text of Act 90 left a gap of nearly a year (January 23, 2014 to January 1, 2015) with no contribution limits at all.

The AG concluded the gap was a drafting error, not the legislature's intent. Recorded committee deliberations and testimony from Act 90's draftsman both confirmed the legislature meant to keep the old limits in effect through the end of the 2014 election cycle. Vermont's Supreme Court in In re C.S. (1992) held that courts can correct statutory language that does not promote legislative intent due to "clerical error in transcription, writing, or redrafting."

The pre-Act 90 limits remained in effect through December 31, 2014:

• $1,000 from a single source to any candidate per election.
• $3,000 from a political committee to any candidate per election.
• $2,000 from a single source/committee/party to a political committee or party in any two-year cycle.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Vermont's campaign finance law has been amended multiple times since 2014, and the relevant chapter (17 V.S.A. ch. 59) was substantially rewritten by Act 90 itself. Anyone evaluating contribution limits for a current Vermont election cycle should consult the current version of Title 17 and the Secretary of State's current campaign finance guidance.

Historical summary

Act 90 of 2013 (enacted as 2013 (Adj. Sess.) Acts & Resolves No. 90) was a comprehensive rewrite of Vermont's campaign finance law. The 2014 election cycle (state-level offices) was already underway when Act 90 was passed, so the legislature wanted to avoid changing limits in the middle of the cycle. The Committee on Conference deliberated about whether to make new limits effective on passage or to postpone them to the start of the next cycle. They chose the latter, with new limits taking effect January 1, 2015.

The drafting error: Act 90 repealed the old chapter 59 of Title 17 effective on passage (January 23, 2014). The old contribution limits were in chapter 59. The repeal eliminated those limits ten months before the new limits would take effect. Either the legislature meant to delay the repeal until the new limits took effect, or it meant to add a savings clause. Neither happened in the text of Act 90.

The House passed H.640 in February 2014 to fix the gap retroactively, but the Senate never voted on the corrective bill before adjournment. So at the time of the opinion, the literal text of Act 90 left the gap unfilled.

The AG, drawing on In re C.S. (Vt. 1992) and the Second Circuit's analogous In re Adamo (1980), concluded that the legislative intent (preserving the pre-existing limits through December 31, 2014) controlled over the literal text. The pre-existing limits, originally enacted in 1981 (Adj. Sess.) Acts & Resolves No. 197 and amended by 1987 (Adj. Sess.) Acts & Resolves No. 263, remained in effect for the 2014 cycle:

• Candidate from a single source: $1,000 per election.
• Candidate from a political committee: $3,000 per election.
• Political committee or party from a single source: $2,000 per two-year cycle.

The opinion also addressed legislative inaction: just because the Senate did not pass H.640 does not mean the legislature endorsed the Act 90 gap. The Vermont Supreme Court in In re C.S. and other state courts (Cal., Tex., Wis.) have held that legislative inaction is not informative of legislative intent.

Citations and references

Statutes and Acts:
- 17 V.S.A. § 2805 (pre-Act 90)
- 2013 (Adj. Sess.) Acts & Resolves No. 90 (Act 90)

Cases:
- In re C.S., 158 Vt. 339 (1992) (correction of clerical drafting error)
- In re Adamo, 619 F.2d 216 (2d Cir. 1980) (premature repeal analysis)
- Randall v. Sorrell, 548 U.S. 230 (2006) (1997 Vermont limits unconstitutional, reverting to 1981 limits)
- Oxfeld v. Sorrell, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81872 (D. Vt.) (revival of former statute after invalidation)

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.vermont.gov/about-attorney-generals-office/attorney-general-opinions
• Original PDF: https://ago.vermont.gov/sites/ago/files/2025-11/FO%202014-1.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.

WILLIAM H. SORRELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Formal Opinion #2014-1
May 13, 2014

Hon. Jim Condos
Secretary of State
128 State Street
Montpelier VT 05601-1101

Re: Act 90 — An Act Relating to Campaign Finance Law

Dear Secretary Condos:

You have asked whether limits on campaign contributions are in effect during 2014 in light of the passage of 2013 (Adj. Sess.) Acts & Resolves No. 90 ("Act 90"). Our opinion is that the limits set forth in the law as enforced by the State of Vermont prior to the passage of Act 90 remain in effect through December 31, 2014.

As you know, 17 V.S.A. § 2805(a) (2012) specifies that political committees and political parties shall not accept contributions totaling more than $2,000 from a single source, political committee, or political party in any two-year general election cycle. Furthermore, 17 V.S.A. § 2805(a) & (b) as added by 1981 (Adj. Sess.) Acts & Resolves No. 197, § 1 and amended by 1987 (Adj. Sess.) Acts & Resolves No. 263, § 3, specifies that no candidate for election to Vermont office shall accept contributions totaling more than $1,000 from a single source or more than $3,000 from a political committee for any election. It is our opinion that the Legislature intended that these limits remain in effect through December 31, 2014, despite the literal reading of Act 90.

Act 90 re-organized and revised Vermont's campaign finance law. It repealed chapter 59 of title 17, effective January 23, 2014, and replaced it with a new chapter, which established contribution limits for political campaigns that will go into effect on January 1, 2015. No. 90, § 8(a)(2). The differing effective dates appear to leave a gap between January 23, 2014, the date when the existing limits were repealed, and January 1, 2015, the date when the new limits go into effect. The recorded deliberations of the Committee on Conference on S.82 demonstrate, however, that the Legislature intended the former limits to remain in effect through the current election cycle. Further, testimony before the House Government Operations Committee and Senate Government Operations Committee by Act 90's legislative draftsman confirms that the effective date of the repeal language "upon passage" was a drafting error. The Act should have explicitly stated that the contribution limits from pre-existing law would remain in effect through December 31, 2014, so that there would be no change in the current general election cycle.

Shortly after the error was discovered, the House passed H.640 on February 14, 2014. Section 33 of H.640 corrected the effective date, stating as follows:

Notwithstanding the provisions of 2014 Acts and Resolves No. 90 (campaign finance (S.82)), Secs. 2 (repeal of 17 V.S.A. chapter 59) and 8 (effective dates; transitional provisions), the provisions of 17 V.S.A. § 2805(a), (b), (f), (g), and (h) (limitations of contributions), as administered and enforced by the State immediately prior to the effective date of 2014 Acts and Resolves No. 90, Sec. 2, shall continue to apply to elections in the State from the effective date of 2014 Acts and Resolves No. 90, Sec. 2 until the effective date of 2014 Acts and Resolves No. 90, Sec. 3, 17 V.S.A. § 2941 (limitations of contributions).

After passage by the House, the bill was reported favorably by the Senate Government Operations Committee and referred to the Senate Finance Committee. As it was not voted on in the Finance Committee, the full Senate never voted on H.640.

Although courts generally adhere to a statutory rule of construction that relies on the plain language of a statute in interpreting its meaning, a legislative drafting error creates an exception to that rule. The Vermont Supreme Court "continue[s] to encourage plain meaning statutory construction," but "when the plain meaning of the statute contradicts the intent of the Legislature, 'we are not confined to a literal interpretation of the statutory language.'" In re C.S., 158 Vt. 339, 343 (1992). "We may correct a statute whose language does not promote the intent of the Legislature due to clerical error in transcription, writing, or redrafting."

In a case similar to the situation here, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals considered the question of applying legislative intent where the repeal of one law did not align with the effective date of its replacement. It concluded that a repealed statute prohibiting the discharge of student loans in bankruptcy proceedings should be read to remain in effect during the gap. See In re Adamo, 619 F.2d 216, 222 (2d Cir. 1980).

Based on these cases, we believe that the legislative intent to keep the former limits in effect through December 31, 2014, takes precedence over the plain language of the statute. The fact that the Senate did not act on H.640 does not change our opinion, because legislative inaction is not persuasive in determining legislative intent.

Therefore, we answer your question as follows: the limits on contributions set forth in 17 V.S.A. § 2805(a), (b), (f), (g), and (h) (limitations of contributions), as administered and enforced by the State immediately prior to the effective date of Act 90, remain in effect through December 31, 2014. Specifically, no candidate for election to Vermont office shall accept contributions totaling more than $1,000 from a single source or more than $3,000 from a political committee for any election. Further, no political committee or political party shall accept contributions totaling more than $2,000 from a single source, political committee, or political party in any two-year general election cycle.

Any complaint regarding a potential violation of the above contribution limits will be handled consistent with our approach to all alleged campaign finance violations. We will continue to evaluate each matter on its merits and develop an appropriate course of action for enforcement of Vermont law.

Attorney General