17 Vt. Stat. Ann. § 2801

Section 2801(3) defines expenditures to include payments for advocating a position on a public question, as well as influencing an election or supporting or opposing candidates.

Vermont Right To Life Committee, Inc. v. Sorrell · filed 2000-07-21(3)

The disclosure requirements in §2883(b), moreover, incorporate by reference not only the definition of "mass media activities" in §2883(a), but also the definition of "expenditure" in Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 17, § 2801(3). "Expenditures" are defined by § 2801(3) to mean payments made "for the purpose of influencing an election, advocating a position on a public question, or supporting or opposing one or more candidates" (emphasis added). Any attempt to save §2883 would at least require a court to: (1) interpret the phrase "supporting or opposing one or more candidates" to mean "supporting or opposing one or more candidates expressly"; and (2) interpret the phrase "advocating a position on a public question" to mean "advocating a position on a public question solely by means of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate." Since the last phrase in § 2801(3) is a plain reference to issue advocacy, it can hardly be said to be "readily apparent" that its meaning excludes issue advocacy.

Section 2801(3) defines expenditures to include payments for advocating a position on a public question, which the court characterized as a plain reference to issue advocacy.

Vermont Right to Life Committee, Inc. v. Sorrell · filed 2000-06-15(3)

Since the last phrase in § 2801(3) is a plain reference to issue advocacy, it can hardly be said to be “readily apparent” that its meaning excludes issue advocacy.

Section 2801(5) constitutionally treats state and local political party committees as one entity for campaign contribution limits.

Landell v. Sorrell · filed 2000-08-28(5)

Act 64’s definition of state and local parties as one entity pursuant to Vt.Stat.Ann. tit. 17, §§ 2801(5), and 2301 through 2320, is constitutional.

Section 2801(4)'s references to influencing an election or affecting its outcome mean supporting or opposing one or more candidates.

Vermont Right to Life Committee, Inc. v. Sorrell · filed 2012-06-21(4)

Accordingly, the Court reads “for the purpose of ... influencing an election ... or affecting the outcome of an election” as simply, “supporting or opposing one or more candidates.”

Section 2801(4)'s alternative descriptions of a political committee's spending purpose mean supporting or opposing candidates in an election.

State of Vermont v. Green Mountain Future · filed 2011-06-28(4)

The court interprets the alternative statutory formulations of the purpose of the expenditure to be the equivalent of “supporting or opposing one or more candidates.”

Section 2801(4) treats an expenditure as made to influence an election when its objective purpose is to persuade voters to vote a particular way.

State v. Green Mountain Future · filed 2013-09-27(4)

Our construction, compared with the trial court’s, additionally interprets “for the purpose of . . . influencing an election” to mean for the objective purpose of persuading someone to vote in a certain manner in an election. So construed, 17 V.S.A. § 2801(4) (and the similarly construed definition of “expenditure”) is not vague.