This memorandum outlines the prohibition against using state resources in campaign activities. Although you remain free to participate in campaign activities as individuals, on your time, California law prohibits you from using state resources (including state-compensated time) to participate in campaign activity.

Importantly, this same rule applies to initiative campaigns. In the initiative context, however, the lines between impermissible “campaign activities” and other, permissible activities is not always as clear as in races among individual political candidates. In particular, although California law prohibits you from using state resources (including state-compensated time) to advocate for or against the qualification or passage of an initiative once it has begun circulating amongst voters, it is generally permissible to use state resources to provide information related to an initiative, without campaigning for or against that initiative.

THE GENERAL RULE: NO STATE RESOURCES FOR CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES

The general rule is that you are prohibited from using public funds and resources for campaign activity. (Government Code, § 8314; Penal Code, § 424.)  “Campaign activity” generally includes participation in support of or in opposition to the election of any candidate for elective office, the confirmation through election of any judge, or the adoption or defeat of any ballot measure or initiative. (See Government Code, § 8314, subdivision. (b)(2).)

Although this prohibition does not include the “incidental and minimal” use of public resources—such as “the referral of unsolicited political mail, telephone calls, and visitors to private political entities” (Government Code, § 8314(b)(2))—it is otherwise very broad.  For example:

1. State-Compensated Time: You may not participate in campaign activities on state-compensated time. For example, you may not make campaign-related phone calls; draft or send campaign-related e-mails or other correspondence; or attend, schedule, plan, or otherwise arrange a campaign-related meeting or event. 
   
   Outside normal working hours (including during lunch or other bona fide breaks in the workday, at night, or on weekends and holidays) you may engage in campaign activities as long as you do not otherwise use state resources to do so. It is a good practice to keep a written record demonstrating that any such campaign activities were conducted outside normal working hours.
   
   State-compensated time does not include vacation time or other leave time that could otherwise be used for personal activities. If you wish to engage in campaign activities during what would otherwise be normal working hours, you must take vacation or other applicable leave time. It is a good practice to keep a written record demonstrating that any such campaign activities were not conducted using state-compensated time.
   
2. Official Travel and State Vehicles: You cannot receive state reimbursement for travel related to campaign activities. Otherwise-permissible official travel should not be scheduled to facilitate participation in campaign activities.
   
   If you have access to a state vehicle, you should not use it to participate in campaign activities.

3. Office Space and Supplies: You may not engage in campaign activities in office space owned or leased by the state. This prohibition applies even to activities held outside normal working hours. Any campaign-related meetings should be held outside of state-owned or leased office space, on your own time.
   
   Additionally, you may not use state office supplies (including printers, scanners, and photocopiers) for campaign activities.
   
4. IT and Telecommunications Equipment and Networks: You may not engage in campaign activities using state computers, tablets, or smartphones; other telephones; e-mail; fax machines; or similar equipment or networks. 
   
   You should not engage in campaign activities using a state-issued e-mail account—even on a personal device. Similarly, you should not engage in campaign activities using a state-issued smartphone or computer—even outside the office, on personal time, and using only personal e-mail accounts.
   
   Extended discussions of campaign matters from the office are improper and campaign-related calls should not be referred to state telephone numbers. Members of the public who make unsolicited communications to state staff regarding campaigns should be told that this office deals only with official state business.
   
5. Official Seals, Symbols, and Titles: You may not use official seals or other symbols—including, for example, by using official stationery or letterhead—in campaign activities.
   
   Even if you do not otherwise use official insignia, it is important not to create the impression that you are using your public office on behalf of a political campaign. If you intend to personally support or oppose a ballot measure or a political candidate (in your personal capacity, on your own time), in a way that would allow your name to be publicly identified (for example, by issuing an endorsement), please contact Department or Agency counsel to ensure that you do so in a manner consistent with state law and internal policies.
   
   If you do endorse a political campaign, it is best to do so without using your official title, or other descriptors that might suggest that you are issuing the endorsement in your official capacity. If your title is used to identify you, you should ask the campaign to make clear that any use of your title in connection with that endorsement is for identification purposes only.

USING STATE RESOURCES IN THE INITIATIVE CONTEXT

As a general matter, prohibited “campaign activity” includes activities advocating for or against the qualification, passage, or defeat of an initiative or other ballot measure. (See Government Code, §§ 8314(b)(2), 82015(b)(3)(A), 82025(c).) Nevertheless, there are two limited circumstances under which it is permissible to use state resources to engage on issues related to an initiative, without campaigning for or against that initiative:

1. It is generally permissible to use state resources to develop initiative proposals and draft initiative language, before the text of the initiative begins circulating to voters, as long as such use is otherwise consistent with official policy and state law.
   
2. It is generally permissible to use state resources to provide information relevant to a proposed initiative—including, for example, information about the likely impact of an initiative on state agencies or programs—without engaging in advocacy for or against the initiative.  In this circumstance, the use of state resources to educate and inform the public must not cross the line into advocacy for or against the initiative campaign.

The line between permissible informational activities and impermissible campaign activities is not always clear in the initiative context. The precise location of this line can vary depending on the facts of a particular case; courts often look to the “style, tenor, and timing” of communications to determine whether a particular communication is permissible public education or impermissible campaign advocacy. (See Stanson v. Mott (1976) 17 Cal.3d 206, 222.) For example, a publicly financed brochure purporting to contain only relevant factual information, without explicitly exhorting voters to vote “yes” on an initiative, could be improper if it is created and distributed one month before an election and is crafted to assist advocates in being more effective campaigners for the initiative. (See Vargas v. City of Salinas (2009) 46 Cal.4th 1, 25, 26-27.)  For this reason, we advise you to err on the side of caution, and to consult with your supervisor/manager.

In general, however, it is permissible to use state resources to provide the public with a fair and impartial presentation of relevant facts, to aid the electorate in reaching an informed judgment regarding an initiative or other ballot measure. (See Government Code, § 8314(d).) This may include educating the public about the impact that the passage or defeat of an initiative is likely to have on state agencies or programs. For example, you may inform the public of specific actions—including expansions or reductions in service—that a state agency would take based on an initiative’s passage or defeat.  (See Vargas, 46 Cal.4th at 22.)

Please review this memo carefully. If you have questions as a particular situation arise, please contact your supervisor/manager and/or Alison Yang, Performance Management Unit Manager at Alison.Yang@dor.ca.gov.