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MEMORANDUM
GUIDELINES FOR ENSURING THAT PUBLIC RESOURCES ARE
NOT USED FOR CAMPAIGN OR OTHER POLITICAL PURPOSES
This memorandum sets forth guidelines to ensure compliance with the legal and
ethical requirements for maintaining the separation of political activities from state work.
Governor Bush is committed to ensuring that public resources are devoted to public
business and not used to benefit any campaign or other political activities.*
After outlining the relevant general statutory provisions that have been adopted to
prevent the misuse of public resources for political purposes, the memorandum will
address some practical questions that arise in complying with the statutes. The
memorandum also outlines the specific statutory provisions relating to travel by the
Governor and Lt. Governor and to security provided by the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement.
Any state employee who is in doubt concerning the proper application of
these statutory provisions and practical guidelines should seek further legal advice.
*
Activities related to referendum campaigns are not within the scope of this memorandum.
General Statutory Provisions
Three separate general provisions of Florida law are relevant to the subject of this
memorandum.† One provision – Section 112.313(6), Florida Statutes – which is found
in the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees, contains a general prohibition
on the corrupt misuse of official position and public resources. The other two statutory
provisions contain prohibitions on specific campaign-related conduct.
Code of Ethics Prohibition on Misuse of Official Position and Public Resources.
Section 112.313(6), Florida Statutes, provides:
MISUSE OF PUBLIC POSITION – No public
officer [or] employee of an agency … shall
corruptly use or attempt to use his or her official
position or any property or resource which may be
within his or her trust, or perform his of her official
duties, to secure a special privilege, benefit, or
†
In addition to the statutory provisions which are related to the subject of this memorandum, there
are two other important statutory provisions dealing with certain political activities or actions by state
employees and officers. Following is a brief summary of the major provisions of these statutes. This is not
a comprehensive description of these statutory provisions. Any person with questions concerning the
application of these provisions should consult the full text of the statute or seek further legal advice.
Section 110.233, Florida Statutes, sets forth standards regarding employees in the career service.
Among other provisions, it prohibits either favoring or discriminating against any person “with respect to
employment in the career service” because of “political opinion or affiliation.” In addition, it prohibits
state employees and officials from using “any promise of reward or threat of loss to encourage or coerce
any employee to support or contribute to any political issue, candidate, or party.”
Section 104.31, Florida Statutes, makes it a misdemeanor of the first degree for state, county, and
municipal officers and employees to use their official authority or influence for the purpose of “coercing or
influencing another person’s vote,” interfering with an election, or affecting the result of an election. The
statute also prohibits the use of coercion by such persons of other public officers or employees to obtain
political contributions. The statute makes clear, however, that all public officers and employees “retain the
right to vote as they choose and to express their opinions on all political subjects and candidates.” It also
makes clear that its general prohibition on the use of official authority or influence to interfere with an
election or to coerce or influence voting is not to be construed “to limit the political activities” of
enumerated elected officials, and the heads of state agencies boards, commissions or committees, or
members of state boards, commissions, or committees.
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exemption for himself, herself or others … .
“Corruptly” is defined in Section 112.312(9), Florida Statutes, as “done with a
wrongful intent and for the purpose of obtaining, or compensating or receiving
compensation for, any benefit resulting from some act or omission of a public servant
which is inconsistent with the proper performance of his or her public duties.” The
statutory prohibition on the corrupt use of official position and public resources has been
held to apply to the improper use of official position and public resources for campaign
and other political purposes.
Prohibition on Use by Candidates of Services of State Employees During
Working Hours. Section 106.15(3), Florida Statutes, provides:
No candidate shall, in the furtherance of his of
her candidacy for nomination or election to public
office in any election, use the services of any
officer or employee of the state during working hours.
Violations of this provision are misdemeanors of the first degree. Section
106.15(5), Fla. Stat. The primary issue raised by this provision is how properly to
document that state employees who choose to engage in campaign activities do so only
during time other than “working hours.”
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Prohibition on Making, Soliciting and Accepting Political Contributions in
Government Buildings. Section 106.15(4), Florida Statutes, provides:
No person shall make and no person shall solicit
or knowingly accept any political contribution in
a building owned by a governmental entity. For
purposes of this subsection, “accept” means to receive
a contribution by personal hand delivery from a
contributor or the contributor’s agent. This subsection
shall not apply when a government-owned building
or any portion thereof is rented for the specific purpose
of holding a campaign fundraiser.
Violations of this provision are misdemeanors of the first degree. Section
106.15(5), Fla. Stat. The prohibition on making, soliciting, and accepting political
contributions applies not only to government officers and employees, but also to any
other person. The scope of the prohibition on “knowingly accepting” contributions is
explicitly limited to receipt by personal hand delivery from a contributor or the
contributor’s agent.
The ban on solicitation of contributions raises questions concerning the situs
(location) of solicitations made by phone and mail. Arguably, any phone solicitation –
whether through a land line or a cell phone – either made or received in a government
building would fall with the scope of the prohibition. Likewise, mailed solicitations
received at a government building would arguably violate this section. (Of course,
mailed solicitations originating from a government building would obviously be
improper.)
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Guidance for Compliance
Participation in Campaign Activities by State Employees During Non-working
Hours. State employees are permitted to participate in campaign and other political
activities on their own time. Participation in such activities is, of course, strictly
voluntary. No employee should in any manner coerce another employee to participate in
such activities.
Care must be taken properly to document that campaign and other political
activities are not undertaken during official working hours. Employees who choose to
engage in campaign activities during normal business hours should do so only when on
leave. An employee should obtain prior approval for such leave from the employee’s
supervisor in the same manner that prior approval is obtained for vacation and other leave
time. A written record of such leave should be maintained.
In no event should employees take leave to participate in campaign or political
activities when such leave would in any way interfere with the timely performance of
state work. In addition, employees are strictly forbidden to use any state resources for
campaign or other political purposes.
Interaction of State Offices with Campaign or Other Political Entities. The
Governor and Lt. Governor each have dual roles as constitutional officers of the state and
candidates for political office. There necessarily is an interface between these dual roles.
In particular, there is a practical requirement that the different elements of the schedules
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for the Governor and Lt. Governor be coordinated. Accordingly, there must be
communication between the state employees responsible for official scheduling and those
persons who schedule campaign or other political events. State employees should not
participate during working hours in arranging campaign or other political events.
However, in order to carry out their official responsibilities and avoid scheduling
conflicts, state employees may properly communicate with persons who schedule
campaign and other political events.
From time to time persons representing campaign and other political entities will
seek to obtain information – through public records or otherwise – from state employees
on particular issues of public interest. It is proper to provide such information on a non-
discriminatory basis. It is important that employees responding to such requests be
mindful of the requirement that state resources (including the time of state employees
during working hours) not be used to secure a special benefit for, or to further the
candidacy of any political candidate. Such inquiries should be handled without respect to
any partisan consideration and in the same manner that other citizen inquiries are
handled.
Receipt of Communications Related to Campaign or Other Political Activities. It
is inevitable that members of the public who do not fully appreciate the distinction
between official business and campaign or political business will on occasion misdirect to
state offices communications related to campaign or other political matters. Such
communications may properly be redirected to the appropriate campaign or other
political entity.
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State employees receiving such communications by phone should courteously
inform the caller that campaign and other political matters are not handled by state
employees, and refer the caller to the appropriate campaign or political entity.
Communications received by mail or e-mail should be forwarded to the appropriate
entity.
Press Inquiries Related to Campaign or Other Political Matters. Public issues
raised in connection with campaign and other political activities will with some
frequency lead to press inquiries being directed to the Governor’s press office or other
state offices. State employees during working hours are not to act as spokespersons for
any campaign or other political entity. Such employees are not, however, precluded from
responding to inquiries related to the official activities or the official positions of the
Governor and his administration simply because such inquiries arise in the context of a
political campaign. Press inquiries concerning the activities of a campaign or other
political entity should be referred to the entity concerned.
Receipt of Campaign or Other Political Contributions in Government Buildings.
No one should at any time accept a campaign or other political contribution in a state
office, or in any other government-owned building.‡ If someone attempts to deliver by
hand a contribution in a state building, the contribution should be refused and the person
tendering the contribution informed that it is a crime to make or receive a political
‡
The only exception to this prohibition is for government-owned facilities that have been rented for the
specific purpose of holding a campaign fund-raiser.
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contribution in a public building. Contributions received by mail at a state office should
be returned to the sender with an explanation that it is official policy that campaign and
other political contributions received in a state office be returned to the sender.
Solicitation of Campaign or Other Political Contributions in Government
Buildings. No person located in a government building should at any time solicit a
campaign or other political contribution either in person or by any other means of
communication.§ No person should transmit a communication soliciting a contribution
by any means to any person located in a government building.
Travel Issues
Use of the State Aircraft. Two statutory provisions govern the proper use of state-
owned aircraft. Section 287.17, Florida Statutes, sets forth the general limitations
regarding the proper use of state aircraft. The section provides specific requirements
governing the reimbursement for travel by persons who are accompanying a state official
but who are not traveling on state business.
Section 106.15(2), Florida Statutes, prohibits the use by an official who is a
candidate of “any state-owned aircraft or motor vehicle …. solely for the purpose of
furthering his or her candidacy.” This provision does, however, allow an official to
§
The only exception to this prohibition is for government-owned facilities that have been rented for the
specific purpose of holding a campaign fund-raiser.
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perform campaign functions while on an official trip using a state aircraft. In such
circumstances, the state must be reimbursed by the campaign account of the candidate for
the greater of the “prorated share of all fixed and variable expenses related to the
ownership, operation, and use of such aircraft or one-half of the total fixed and variable
expenses related to the ownership, operation, and use of such aircraft…..” Thus, if any
campaign-related activities are conducted on a trip in which the state aircraft is used, the
campaign must reimburse the state for at least half the full cost of the trip.
Security Provided by FDLE. The Governor and Lt. Governor are statutorily
entitled to receive transportation and protective services provided by the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement. Section 281.20, Fla. Stat. To maintain proper security,
such services must be provided for the Governor and Lt. Governor at public and other
functions, including campaign and other political events. Such services are not provided
to benefit any campaign or other political entity but to ensure the security of state
constitutional officers.
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