(1)
(a) (I) No agency, department, board, division, bureau, commission, or council of the
state or any political subdivision of the state shall make any contribution in
campaigns involving the nomination, retention, or election of any person to any
public office, nor shall any such entity make any donation to any other person for
the purpose of making an independent expenditure, nor shall any such entity
expend any money from any source, or make any contributions, to urge electors to
vote in favor of or against any:
(A) Statewide ballot issue that has been submitted for the purpose of having
a title designated and fixed pursuant to section 1-40-106 (1) or that has had a title
designated and fixed pursuant to that section;
(B) Local ballot issue that has been submitted for the purpose of having a
title fixed pursuant to section 31-11-111 or that has had a title fixed pursuant to that
section;
(C) Referred measure, as defined in section 1-1-104 (34.5), passed by the
general assembly or the governing body of any political subdivision of the state
with authorization to refer matters to voters;
(D) Recall measure for the recall of any officer that has been submitted for
approval for circulation on an approved petition form.
(II) However, a member or employee of any such agency, department, board,
division, bureau, commission, or council may respond to questions about any such
issue described in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a) if the member, employee,
or public entity has not solicited the question. A member or employee of any such
agency, department, board, division, bureau, commission, or council who has policy-making responsibilities may expend not more than fifty dollars of public moneys in
the form of letters, telephone calls, or other activities incidental to expressing his
or her opinion on any such issue described in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a).
(b) (I) Nothing in this subsection (1) shall be construed as prohibiting an
agency, department, board, division, bureau, commission, or council of the state, or
any political subdivision thereof from expending public moneys or making
contributions to dispense a factual summary, which shall include arguments both
for and against the proposal, on any issue of official concern before the electorate
in the jurisdiction. Such summary shall not contain a conclusion or opinion in favor
of or against any particular issue. As used herein, an issue of official concern shall
be limited to issues that will appear on an election ballot in the jurisdiction.
(II) Nothing in this subsection (1) shall be construed to prevent an elected
official from expressing a personal opinion on any issue.
(III) Nothing in this subsection (1) shall be construed as prohibiting an
agency, department, board, division, bureau, commission, or council of the state or
any political subdivision thereof from:
(A) Passing a resolution or taking a position of advocacy on any issue
described in subparagraph (I) of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1); or
(B) Reporting the passage of or distributing such resolution through
established, customary means, other than paid advertising, by which information
about other proceedings of such agency, department, board, division, bureau, or
council of the state or any political subdivision thereof is regularly provided to the
public.
(C) Nothing in this subsection (1) shall be construed as prohibiting a member
or an employee of an agency, department, board, division, bureau, commission, or
council of the state or any political subdivision thereof from expending personal
funds, making contributions, or using personal time to urge electors to vote in favor
of or against any issue described in subparagraph (I) of paragraph (a) of this
subsection (1).
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to:
(a) An official residence furnished or paid for by the state or a political
subdivision;
(b) Security officers who are required to accompany a candidate or the
candidate's family;
(c) Publicly owned motor vehicles provided for the use of the chief executive
of the state or a political subdivision;
(d) Publicly owned aircraft provided for the use of the chief executive of the
state or of a political subdivision or the executive's family for security purposes;
except that, if such use is, in whole or in part, for campaign purposes, the expenses
relating to the campaign shall be reported and reimbursed pursuant to subsection
(3) of this section.
(3) If any candidate who is also an incumbent inadvertently or unavoidably
makes any expenditure which involves campaign expenses and official expenses,
such expenditures shall be deemed a campaign expense only, unless the candidate,
not more than ten working days after the such expenditure, files with the
appropriate officer such information as the secretary of state may by rule require in
order to differentiate between campaign expenses and official expenses. Such
information shall be set forth on a form provided by the appropriate officer. In the
event that public moneys have been expended for campaign expenses and for
official expenses, the candidate shall reimburse the state or political subdivision for
the amount of money spent on campaign expenses.
(4) (a) A violation of this section is subject to the provisions of section 10 (1)
of article XXVIII of the state constitution, section 1-45-111.7, or any appropriate
order or relief, including an order directing the person making a contribution or
expenditure in violation of this section to reimburse the fund of the state or political
subdivision, as applicable, from which such money was diverted for the amount of
the contribution or expenditure, injunctive relief, or a restraining order to enjoin the
continuance of the violation.
(b) If a board, commission, or council is found to have made a contribution or
expenditure in violation of this section, an individual member of the board,
commission, or council who voted in favor of or otherwise authorized the
contribution or expenditure may be ordered to reimburse an amount pursuant to
subsection (4)(a) of this section as long as the amount does not exceed the amount
ordered to be reimbursed by any other individual of the board, commission, or
council who voted in favor or otherwise authorized the contribution or expenditure.