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A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED:  "AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF PUBLIC RESOURCES TO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF AN ELECTION"

1.  Statement of legislative intent.  The legislature finds that those public employees and elected officials who are entrusted with the strings to the public purse and who use public resources under their trust to influence the outcome of an election have used public resources for a personal and unauthorized purpose.  Both the proponents and opponents of an issue or candidate at election have an equal stake in any public resources used to inform the public about the contest, therefore, any use of public resources must be neutral, or balanced, or both.  Public funds and public resources may not be used to take sides in elections.  Any person who uses public resources to take sides in an election does so as a personal act, not an official act.

2.  Any public employee or elected official who uses, orders the use of, authorizes the use of, or knowingly tolerates the use of, public resources in a manner that has the effect of soliciting support for or opposition to any candidate or ballot issue has violated the provisions of this section.

3.  Public resources include public funds, postage paid for at public expense, printing and copy machines and supplies paid for at public expense, public employee time while on the job and at the place of work, telephone or other communication services paid for at public expense, use of computers or vehicles paid for at public expense, or other resources paid for by public funds.  Public funds include tax revenues or fees levied by the state or any of its political subdivisions, or any other funds that accrue to the state or any of its political subdivisions in exchange for services, benefits, permissions, or otherwise.

4.  Any public employee or elected public official illegally using public resources under this section has committed official misconduct, and must be prosecuted for official misconduct by the county attorney of the county where the offense may occur.  Under such prosecution for official misconduct, the county attorney must request necessary orders from the court compelling the public employee or elected official to reimburse the public treasury for funds or resources misappropriated.

5.  Any person with knowledge that a public employee or elected official has misappropriated public resources under this section may file a civil action against the accused public employee or elected official to require reimbursement of the public treasury by the accused employee or official  A public employee or elected official defendant in such action may not have the costs of their legal defense paid for by public funds.  The prevailing party in such action shall be entitled to collect reasonable court costs and attorney’s fees from the other party upon conclusion of the action.

6.  This section may not be construed to:

a.  prevent any public employee from participating in support for or opposition to any candidate or ballot issue when the employee is using non-public resources and when off his job and away from his place of work; or
 
b.  prevent any elected official from supporting or opposing any candidate or ballot issue in any way that does not involve the consumption of public resources; or

c.  prevent the dissemination of information about candidates or ballot issues, paid for at public expense, where such information is neutral or balanced, and does not tend to solicit support for or opposition to any candidate or ballot issue; or

d.  prevent the use of public facilities for candidate debates or debates about ballot issues where all candidates for a particular office, or both proponents and opponents of a ballot issue, are afforded equal opportunity to appear and benefit from such use of public facilities.

7.  The prohibition against use of public resources begins:

a.  in relation to any candidate, when that candidate announces publicly, or files, for public office., and

b.  in relation to any ballot issue, when the proponents of a ballot issue file the proposed ballot issue with the secretary of state or county elections office in application for approval to begin circulating petitions.

END