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Assembly Social Media Policy
1. General Statement
Assembly offices may use legislative resources, including their computers, electronic
devices, and related information technology (IT) services, as defined in Appendix A, to
establish and maintain one or more social media sites in accordance with this policy.
Members and employees agree to comply fully with the guidelines set forth in this policy
respecting the use of legislative resources in connection with maintaining a social media
site.1
For purposes of this policy, a “social media site” means an account on a social media
platform. This policy does not apply to a social media site that is not established or
maintained using legislative resources.
2. Legislative Resources
The use of Assembly-provided computers, electronic devices, and related IT services to
post content on a social media site shall be subject to the same standards as the use of all
other legislative resources (e.g., telephone, fax, scanner, or copier). The Assembly
reserves the right to inspect all of its legislative resources used to conduct Assembly
business to ensure compliance with Assembly policies, without notice to the useremployee.
The Assembly may conduct inspections of legislative resources even in the
user-employee’s absence. Thus, there is no personal right to privacy with respect to any
information created, modified, or stored on, or retrievable from, Assembly-provided
computers, electronic devices, or related IT systems. The Assembly retains the right to
suspend or revoke the use of and access to such legislative resources.
3. Legislative Purpose
The content posted on a social media site using legislative resources subject to this
policy, as well as the content of any associated links posted using legislative resources,
shall concern only matters within the scope of official legislative duties and that serve a
corresponding legislative purpose, as defined in Appendix A.
Please contact the Assembly Rules Committee at (916) 319-2800 if you have any
questions as to whether any content to be posted on a social media site would
appropriately serve a legislative purpose.
1 This policy covers all forms of connection to the Assembly network, including wireless and wired
connections. Moreover, all state-provided wireless connections are legislative resources subject to this
policy and any employee use of the wireless connections that does not serve a legislative purpose may be
disciplined pursuant to this policy.
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Posted content that does not serve a legislative purpose may be excluded and removed
using a process provided by the Legislative Counsel Bureau and approved by the
Assembly Rules Committee.
4. Inappropriate Non-Legislative Purposes
For purposes of this policy, the use of legislative resources to post content or links on a
social media site for any political, personal, commercial, harassing, discriminatory, or
illegal or inappropriate purposes, as those terms are defined in Appendix A, is prohibited.
Users shall not post, or permit others to post, any content related to campaign activity on
a social media site that is created or maintained using legislative resources, nor post a link
to a site that has a purpose related to campaign activity. This prohibition on campaign
activity content applies to all content posted on a social media site that is created or
maintained using legislative resources, even if no legislative resources are used to post
the content.
5. Other General Considerations
a. Business appropriate language
Generally accepted standards of business communication shall govern the type of
language used for content on social media sites posted using legislative resources.
b. Confidentiality
Social media site content that is posted using legislative resources shall not disclose
confidential information or public information without following the existing rules and
procedures of the Assembly or the agency that provided the information.
c. Intellectual property: copyright, trademark, trade secrets
Disseminating, copying, printing, or otherwise improperly using or reproducing
copyrighted material (including articles, software, music and videos), trademarked
material (including logos and other marks), or trade secrets in violation of the laws
governing copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets is prohibited under this policy.
Offices are responsible for respecting intellectual property rights, including determining
the authorship of all materials subject to copyright, trademark, and trade secret protection
and obtaining appropriate permission to use the protected items in connection with
legislative purposes. News articles, charts, graphs, and photographs are often covered by
copyright protections, regardless of whether the piece in question includes a copyright
symbol. Contact the Assembly Rules Committee with questions on copyright, trademark,
or trade secret issues.
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d. Legislative decorum
Members and employees shall conduct themselves in accordance with recognized
standards of decorum for all legislative activities, including on social media sites, when
engaging or interacting with other Members and employees.
6. Specific Policies Relating to the Use of Social Media Sites
a. Employee training and authorization
Users shall be required to complete training approved by the Assembly Rules Committee
regarding the use of social media by employees prior to being authorized to use
Assembly-provided computers, electronic devices, or related IT services to establish or
maintain a social media site. Employees shall be designated by their respective Members
as authorized users of the social media site prior to use.
b. Use of social media generally
Any use of social media on paid legislative time or otherwise using legislative resources
(e.g., participating on a page other than the Member’s page on the social media site) is
also limited to official use. To ensure this, the legislative user shall be identified using a
process approved by the Assembly Rules Committee.
c. General admonition regarding nature of the internet
Members and employees are warned to keep in mind the nature of social media and the
internet generally. It is very simple to post content and comments that may be rapidly
disseminated. Once material is posted, however, it is nearly impossible to erase it from
existence.
7. Right to Monitor
Members and employees should be aware that the Assembly Rules Committee may
monitor a social media site that is established or maintained using legislative resources
and may undertake periodic monitoring of social media sites to ensure compliance with
this policy.
Members and employees should consider all electronic files and transmissions to be of a
permanent nature, such that the Assembly Rules Committee may be able to retrieve and
review them even if they are deleted. Employees should also be aware that password
protection for legislative resources is provided for the purpose of protecting legislative
resources and does not provide any assurance of employee confidentiality. Nor do
employee passwords or file-delete functions create any employee right of privacy with
respect to the employee’s use of legislative resources.
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8. Criminal and Civil Penalties
Misuse of legislative resources in connection with establishing or maintaining a social
media site may be subject to criminal penalties, including, among others, those related to
theft, vandalism, and the misuse of legislative resources.
Criminal offenses are usually prosecuted by the local district attorney. The penalties
imposed by the court principally involve incarceration or probation rather than monetary
damages. The penalties may, however, include restitution of stolen property or its
monetary value.
Civil remedies may also be available. The purpose of a civil action is not to directly
punish an individual for that individual’s actions. Civil lawsuits are brought to repay a
party for lost property or profits.
9. Discipline
In addition to any criminal and civil penalties discussed in this policy, employees are also
subject to discipline by the Assembly Rules Committee for violations of this policy.
Depending on the seriousness of the violation, sanctions may include suspension or
termination of the use of legislative resources in connection with establishing or
maintaining a social media site or any other appropriate employment sanction (e.g.,
reprimand, suspension, demotion, or termination).
10. Implementation
The Assembly Rules Committee should be contacted to seek any of the approvals
required by this policy, or to obtain additional information regarding the policy.
11. Changes
This policy is subject to change from time to time. The current version will be dated to
show the revision and will be posted on the California State Assembly Intranet.
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APPENDIX A: DEFINITIONS
The following terms used in the preceding Assembly policy have the following
meanings:
1) Commercial Purpose. A commercial purpose means any purpose relating to
operating a business for personal gain, and includes advertising for any private
individual, firm or corporation, or implying in any manner that the Assembly or
an Assembly Member endorse or favor any specific commercial product,
commodity or service.
2) Computers, Electronic Devices, and Related Information Technology
Services.
a. “Computers and electronic devices” means electronic devices that are
capable of creating, modifying, storing, transmitting, or receiving data,
including computers, laptops, tablets, personal and wearable digital
assistants, smartphones, and similar devices.
b. “Related information technology services” means any related programs,
applications, servers, or networks that are used in conjunction with
creating, modifying, storing, transmitting, or receiving the data on
computers and electronic devices, including internet, wireless connections
(Wi-Fi), cloud computing, voicemail, text messaging, video, and
electronic mail services.
3) Harassing or Discriminatory Purpose. A harassing or discriminatory purpose
includes disseminating offensive, harassing, or discriminatory statements,
including those based on a person’s race, religious creed (including all aspects of
religious belief, observance, and practice, including religious dress and grooming
practices), color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability,
medical condition, marital status, age (over 40), sex or gender, gender identity,
gender expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, medical conditions related to
pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, genetic information, military or veteran
status, citizenship status, or any other legally protected characteristic..
4) Illegal or Inappropriate Purpose. An illegal or otherwise inappropriate use
prohibited under this policy includes disseminating incendiary statements that
could incite violence or describe or promote the use of weapons or devices
associated with terrorist activities; and accessing, disseminating, or soliciting
sexually oriented messages or images.
5) Legislative Purpose. A legislative purpose is one that is related to the duties of
the Legislature, including, but not limited to, considering and enacting legislation;
investigating, studying, analyzing, and disseminating or receiving information
relating to legislation or government proceedings generally; disseminating or
receiving information relating generally to governmental functions or programs;
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and communicating with constituents about any of the above-referenced
functions.
6) Personal Purpose. A personal purpose means a purpose for personal enjoyment,
private gain or advantage, or any other outside endeavor not related to state
business.
With respect to the use of legislative resources, the following activities comprise
an illustrative list of activities that have a prohibited personal purpose:
A) The use of a personal e-mail account.
B) Engaging in personal errands, such as internet banking or paying bills.
C) Engaging in personal causes, such as sending chain letters, or soliciting
money for religious, charitable, or political causes.
D) Operating a personal business.
7) Political Purpose. A political purpose means a purpose related to overtly partisan
activity, including activities that target other Members or their political parties
with the intent to cause a direct political benefit or detriment. A political purpose
includes a purpose related to campaign activity and encompasses, but is not
limited to, actions to influence or attempt to influence voters for or against the
nomination or election of a candidate for elective office or the qualification or
passage of a ballot measure. For purposes of this policy, the term “ballot
measure” includes, Assembly Constitutional Amendments, Senate Constitutional
Amendments or other legislative measures (e.g., bonds) that have qualified for the
ballot.
With respect to the use of legislative resources, the following activities comprise
an illustrative list of activities that have a prohibited political purpose:
A) Political fundraising.
B) Press releases, editorials, and resolutions that expressly advocate support or
opposition for a candidate or a ballot measure, or that otherwise identify a
Member, an Assembly employee, or any other person as a candidate for
elective office.
C) Providing links to any campaign websites or online blogs, or to websites of
partisan organizations and other sites, the general purpose of which is to
attempt to advocate for or against the nomination or election of a candidate for
elective office or the qualification or passage of a ballot measure.
D) Issuing endorsements for or against a candidate or ballot measure.
E) Impugning the motives of or disparaging a Member or Member’s political
party with respect to the performance of legislative acts or duties or otherwise
acting contrary to recognized standards of legislative decorum, including, but
not limited to, identifying a particular Member with respect to the casting of
votes, the authoring of legislation, or the content of the Member’s speech and
debate associated with the legislative process.
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F) Engaging in partisan activity targeting a Member in close proximity to the
date of an election at which the Member’s name will appear on the ballot.