(a) A legislator or legislative employee may not
(1) solicit, agree to accept, or accept a benefit other than official compensation for the performance of public duties; this paragraph may not be construed to prohibit lawful solicitation for and acceptance of campaign contributions, solicitation or acceptance of contributions for a charity event, as defined in AS 24.60.080 (a)(2)(B), or the acceptance of a gift under AS 24.60.075 or 24.60.080;
(2) use public funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another government asset or resource for a nonlegislative purpose, for involvement in or support of or opposition to partisan political activity, or for the private benefit of the legislator, legislative employee, or another person; this paragraph does not prohibit
(A) limited use of state property and resources for personal purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use;
(B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general public for nonlegislative purposes;
(C) the legislative council, notwithstanding AS 24.05.190 , from designating a public facility for use by legislators and legislative employees for health or fitness purposes; when the council designates a facility to be used by legislators and legislative employees for health or fitness purposes, it shall adopt guidelines governing access to and use of the facility; the guidelines may establish times in which use of the facility is limited to specific groups;
(D) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 days immediately before and the 10 days immediately after a legislative session, for nonlegislative purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and if there is no cost to the state for the use of the space and equipment, other than utility costs and minimal wear and tear, or the legislator promptly reimburses the state for the cost; an office is considered a legislator's private office under this subparagraph if it is the primary space in the capital city reserved for use by the legislator, whether or not it is shared with others;
(E) a legislator from use of legislative employees to prepare and send out seasonal greeting cards;
(F) a legislator from using state resources to transport computers or other office equipment owned by the legislator but primarily used for a state function;
(G) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator;
(H) reasonable use of the Internet by a legislator or a legislative employee except if the use is for election campaign purposes;
(I) a legislator or legislative employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a gift on behalf of a recognized, nonpolitical charitable organization in a state facility;
(J) a legislator from sending any communication in the form of a newsletter to the legislator's constituents, except a communication expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or a newsletter or material in a newsletter that is clearly only for the private benefit of a legislator or a legislative employee; or
(K) full participation in a charity event approved in advance by the Alaska Legislative Council;
(3) knowingly seek, accept, use, allocate, grant, or award public funds for a purpose other than that approved by law, or make a false statement in connection with a claim, request, or application for compensation, reimbursement, or travel allowances from public funds;
(4) require a legislative employee to perform services for the private benefit of the legislator or employee at any time, or allow a legislative employee to perform services for the private benefit of a legislator or employee on government time; it is not a violation of this paragraph if the services were performed in an unusual or infrequent situation and the person's services were reasonably necessary to permit the legislator or legislative employee to perform official duties;
(5) use or authorize the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another government asset or resource for the purpose of political fund raising or campaigning; this paragraph does not prohibit
(A) limited use of state property and resources for personal purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use;
(B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general public for nonlegislative purposes;
(C) storing or maintaining, consistent with (b) of this section, election campaign records in a legislator's office;
(D) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 days immediately before and the 10 days immediately after a legislative session, for nonlegislative purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and if there is no cost to the state for the use of the space and equipment, other than utility costs and minimal wear and tear, or the legislator promptly reimburses the state for the cost; an office is considered a legislator's private office under this subparagraph if it is the primary space in the capital city reserved for use by the legislator, whether or not it is shared with others; or
(E) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator.
(b) A legislative employee may not on government time assist in political party or candidate activities, campaigning, or fund raising. A legislator may not require an employee to perform an act in violation of this subsection.
(c) Unless approved by the committee, during a campaign period for an election in which the legislator or legislative employee is a candidate, a legislator or legislative employee may not use or permit another to use state funds, other than funds to which the legislator is entitled under AS 24.10.110 , to print or distribute a political mass mailing to individuals eligible to vote for the candidate. In this subsection,
(1) a "campaign period" is the period that
(A) begins 60 days before the date of an election to the board of an electric or telephone cooperative organized under AS 10.25, a municipal election, or a primary election, or that begins on the date of the governor's proclamation calling a special election; and
(B) ends the day after the cooperative election, municipal election, or general or special election;
(2) a mass mailing is considered to be political if it is from or about a legislator, legislative employee, or another person who is a candidate for election or reelection to the legislature or another federal, state, or municipal office or to the board of an electric or telephone cooperative.
(d) A legislator, legislative employee, or another person on behalf of the legislator or legislative employee, or a campaign committee of the legislator or legislative employee, may not distribute or post campaign literature, placards, posters, fund-raising notices, or other communications intended to influence the election of a candidate in an election in public areas in a facility ordinarily used to conduct state government business. This prohibition applies whether or not the election has been concluded. However, a legislator may post, in the legislator's private office, communications related to an election that has been concluded.
(e) A legislator may not directly, or by authorizing another to act on the legislator's behalf,
(1) agree to, threaten to, or state or imply that the legislator will take or withhold a legislative, administrative, or political action, including support or opposition to a bill, employment, nominations, and appointments, as a result of a person's decision to provide or not provide a political contribution, donate or not donate to a cause favored by the legislator, or provide or not provide a thing of value;
(2) state or imply that the legislator will perform or refrain from performing a lawful constituent service as a result of a person's decision to provide or not provide a political contribution, donate or not donate to a cause favored by the legislator, or provide or not provide a thing of value; or
(3) unless required by the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature, take or withhold official action or exert official influence that could substantially benefit or harm the financial interest of another person with whom the legislator is negotiating for employment.
(f) A legislative employee may not serve in a position that requires confirmation by the legislature. A legislator or legislative employee who serves on a board of an organization, including a governmental entity, shall disclose the board membership to the committee. A person required to make a disclosure under this subsection shall file the disclosure with the committee by the deadlines set out in AS 24.60.105 stating the name of each organization on whose board the person serves. The committee shall maintain a public record of the disclosure and forward the disclosure to the appropriate house for inclusion in the journal. This subsection does not require a legislator or legislative employee who is appointed to a board by the presiding officer to make a disclosure of the appointment to the committee if the appointment has been published in the appropriate legislative journal during the calendar year.
(g) Unless required by the Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature, a legislator may not vote on a question if the legislator has an equity or ownership interest in a business, investment, real property, lease, or other enterprise if the interest is substantial and the effect on that interest of the action to be voted on is greater than the effect on a substantial class of persons to which the legislator belongs as a member of a profession, occupation, industry, or region.
(h) An employee who engages in political campaign activities other than incidental campaign activities during the employee's work day shall take leave for the period of campaigning. Political campaign activities while on government time are permissible if the activities are part of the normal legislative duties of the employee, including answering telephone calls and handling incoming correspondence.
(i) A legislator or legislative employee may not attempt to influence the outcome of an administrative hearing by directly or indirectly contacting or attempting to contact the hearing officer assigned to the hearing or the individual, board, or commission with authority to make the final decision in the matter unless
(1) the legislator or legislative employee is representing another person for compensation subject to AS 24.60.100 and as a professional who is licensed in the state;
(2) the contact is made in the presence of all parties to the hearing or the parties' representatives while the legislator or legislative employee is acting as a party or a witness in the matter or responding to a question asked of the legislator or legislative employee by the hearing officer, individual, board, or commission and the contact is made a part of the record; or
(3) the contact is inadvertent and ex parte and the legislator or legislative employee
(A) promptly discloses the fact and substance of the contact
(i) directly to each party to the hearing whose identity as a party is public information; or
(ii) through the hearing officer for each party to the hearing whose identity as a party is not public information; and
(B) makes the fact and substance of the contact part of the record.
(j) In this section, "administrative hearing" means a quasi-judicial hearing before an agency; "administrative hearing" does not include an informal conference or review held by an agency before a final decision is issued or a rate-making proceeding or other nonadjudicative public hearing.
Section: 24.60.030 24.60.031 24.60.033 24.60.035 24.60.037 24.60.039 24.60.040 24.60.045 24.60.050 24.60.060 24.60.070 24.60.075 24.60.080 24.60.085 24.60.090 NextLast modified: November 15, 2016