2020-01-02 Reminder on Political Campaign Restrictions for All County Officers Employees - CC Memorandum No. 2020-01

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2. Endorsements State officials and employees may be asked to endorse political candidates. In such cases, state officials and employees may cite their state position for biographical reasons, but must not create the impression that the State of Hawaii or any state agency is endorsing a particular candidate. Similarly, the State Ethics Code does not prohibit state officials and employees from supporting candidates on social media in their individual capacity if it is clear that the employee is not speaking in their official capacity. To avoid confusion, state employees may wish to clarify that they are speaking in their individual capacity or omit discussing their. state position in any social media posts supporting a candidate. 3. Use of Media Some state officials may be required to respond to media inquiries as part of their official state duties. Interviews conducted in an employee's official capacity must not promote a political campaign. For instance, during an official interview, state officials and employees should refrain from asking anyone to vote for a specific candidate or donate money to a political campaign. State officials may answer isolated campaign questions during state interviews, but if the questions continue to be related to the campaign, those questions should be referred to the campaign office. 4. Candidate Financial Disclosure Statements All candidates for state political office in the State of Hawaii must file a financial disclosure statement no later than twenty days before the state primary election. Filing can be completed online at htto://ethics.hawaii.aov/candidatedisclosure of ling/. Candidate financial disclosure statements are public documents and are posted on the State Ethics Commission's website: http://ethics. hawaii.a oV/. 5. Other Laws The Campaign Spending Law restricts campaign fundraising on state and county property (HRS § 11-354) and campaign contributions by state and county contractors (HRS § 11-355). It also establishes campaign contribution limits and reporting requirements. See HRS §§ 11-357, 11-340. These laws play an important part in ensuring fair and transparent elections. For further information, please contact the State Campaign Spending Commission. Questions? If you have further questions, please contact the Commission at (808) 587-0460 or via email at ethics a@hawaiiethics.org. For questions about campaign finance issues, please contact the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission at (808) 5864285, via Twitter hits , or on the web at http://ags.hawaii.gov/campaign/.