The Virginia Statement of Economic Interests is the annual financial disclosure form that state and local government officials must file under the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act. The deadline is February 1, it covers the prior calendar year, and missing it triggers an automatic $250 civil penalty. The form exists so the public can see where an official’s private financial interests might collide with their public duties.
Who Has to File
The Act divides filers into state and local tiers, and the rules differ.
State Officers and Employees
Under Va. Code § 2.2-3114, state-level filers include the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Supreme Court justices, Court of Appeals judges, circuit and district court judges and substitute judges, members of the State Corporation Commission, and members of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission and the Commonwealth Transportation Board, among others.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 2.2-3114 – Disclosure by State Officers and Employees The Governor can designate additional executive branch positions, and the Joint Rules Committee can designate legislative branch officers and employees. Nonsalaried citizen members of certain boards and commissions file a shorter disclosure under § 2.2-3118 instead of the full form.
General Assembly members file a parallel disclosure under the General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act, and that filing counts for § 2.2-3114 purposes, so they don’t submit two forms.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 2.2-3114.1 – Filings of Statements of Economic Interests by General Assembly Members
Local Officers and Employees
Va. Code § 2.2-3115 reaches members of every county board of supervisors, city council, town council in towns of more than 3,500 residents, and school board. Filing is a condition of taking office.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 2.2-3115 – Disclosure by Local Government Officers and Employees Executive directors and members of industrial development and economic development authorities file as well. A local governing body may require additional positions of trust to file by ordinance, and school boards may do the same by policy.
A narrower group files a limited form that only covers real estate interests within the jurisdiction: planning commission members, board of zoning appeals members, real estate assessors, and county, city, or town managers.
What You Have to Disclose
The Council prescribes the form and its schedules under § 2.2-3117, and you must address each schedule even if your answer is that nothing is reportable.4Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 2.2-3117 – Disclosure Form The schedules cover:
- Real estate holdings in Virginia. Full-disclosure filers generally exclude their primary residence. Planning commission members, zoning board members, assessors, and managers must list all real estate within their jurisdiction.
- Sources of personal income above the prescribed threshold, and business entities in which you hold a significant ownership stake, with name, address, and type of activity for each.
- Gifts above the cumulative reporting threshold from a single source during the calendar year.
- Payments received for speeches, presentations, or meeting attendance connected to your position.
- Third-party payments for travel related to your public role.
Dollar thresholds change. The Council publishes an informal filing guide each year that walks through every schedule with current figures and examples, and you should check the current guide rather than reuse numbers from a prior filing.5Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council. An Informal Guide to Completing the State and Local Statement of Economic Interests
When It’s Due
The annual filing is due February 1 and covers the previous calendar year through December 31.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 2.2-3118.2 – Disclosure Form; Filing Requirements If February 1 lands on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline rolls to the next business day.7Division of Legislative Services. Conflict of Interest
If you’re newly appointed or newly hired into a covered position, you must file on or before the day you assume office or begin work. That initial filing covers the 12 months ending on the last day of the month before you start. One exception: if you take office in January, you skip the separate initial filing and just file the regular annual disclosure by February 1.
Candidates for office file a disclosure as part of qualifying. For General Assembly candidates, the filing made under the General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act satisfies this chapter.
How to Submit the Form
State officers and employees file electronically through the Council’s online portal. Paper submissions by mail, fax, or email are not accepted. You set up an account, complete the schedules online, and receive confirmation when the filing is submitted.7Division of Legislative Services. Conflict of Interest
Local officers and employees submit their completed forms to the clerk of the governing body or school board. The clerk is required to provide you with the correct form at least 20 days before the deadline, and if you haven’t received one as the date approaches, contact the clerk directly. Blank forms are also posted on the Council’s website.5Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council. An Informal Guide to Completing the State and Local Statement of Economic Interests
Lobbyist Gift Cap
Disclosure is one obligation; what you can accept is another. Va. Code § 2.2-3103.1 prohibits a covered officer, employee, or candidate from soliciting or accepting any single gift above the statutory cap, or any combination of gifts above the cap in a calendar year, from someone they know or should know is a lobbyist or a lobbyist’s principal.8Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 2.2-3103.1 – Certain Gifts Prohibited Gifts under $20 don’t count toward the annual aggregate. The Council adjusts the cap for inflation, so confirm the current limit before accepting anything.
Required Ethics Training
Filing isn’t the only recurring obligation attached to covered positions. State filers must complete an orientation course within two months of becoming a filer and at least once every two calendar years after that.9Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 2.2 Chapter 31 – State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act Local elected officials, appointed school board members, and executive directors and members of industrial development and economic development authorities face the same two-month and two-year cycle. The Council offers these sessions, including an online module. There is no penalty for a local official who misses training, but the clerk of the governing body or school board must keep documentation of completion.
Penalties for Missing or Falsifying the Form
The consequences escalate sharply depending on what went wrong.
Late Filing
Missing the deadline triggers an automatic $250 civil penalty assessed against you personally, not your agency.10Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 2.2 Chapter 31 Article 7 – Penalties and Remedies
Knowing Violations
Anyone who knowingly violates the Act commits a Class 1 misdemeanor, which carries up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.11Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 2.2-3120 – Knowing Violation of Chapter a Misdemeanor A “knowing” violation means you acted or refused to act while aware that the Act required or prohibited the conduct.
False Statements on the Form
Knowingly and intentionally making a false statement of material fact on the Statement of Economic Interests is a Class 5 felony.4Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 2.2-3117 – Disclosure Form A Class 5 felony in Virginia can be punished by one to ten years in prison, or alternatively by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 at the discretion of the judge or jury. Accidentally omitting an interest because you misread the schedule is a different problem than deliberately lying on it.
Loss of Office
On top of any criminal penalty, a knowing violation of the Act constitutes malfeasance in office or employment. On conviction, a judge or jury can order forfeiture of your position.12Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 2.2-3122 – Knowing Violation of Chapter Constitutes Malfeasance in Office or Employment That consequence attaches whether the underlying charge is a misdemeanor or a felony.
Who Can See Your Filing
Statements filed by state officers are available to the public through the Council’s searchable online database; no formal records request is needed.13Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council. Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council Local filings are kept by the clerk of the governing body or school board and must be available for public inspection at that office, and they become public no later than six weeks after the filing deadline. Fill the form out with the expectation that anyone will be able to read it.