§ 2-706 — Prohibited uses of official mail by elected officials.

District of Columbia § 2-706

• Jurisdiction: District of Columbia
• Title 2: Government Administration.
• Ch. 7: Official Correspondence.

Text

(a) An elected official may not mail, as official mail, any mass mailing within the 90-day period that immediately precedes a primary, special, or general election in which such official is a candidate for office.

(b) An elected official may mail, as official mail, news releases or newsletters; provided, that such materials do not contain any of the following:

(1) Autobiographical articles;

(2) Political cartoons;

(3) References to past or future campaigns;

(4) Announcements of filings for reelection;

(5) Announcements of campaign schedules;

(6) Announcements of political or partisan meetings;

(7) Reports on family life; or

(8) Pictures of the official members with any partisan label such as “Democrat,” “Republican,” “Statehood Party,” or any other label which purports to advertise the member rather than to illustrate the accompanying text.

(c) An elected official may not use official mail to solicit directly or indirectly funds for any purpose.

(d) An elected official may not use official mail for transmission of matter which is purely personal to the sender or to any other person and is unrelated to the official business, activities, and duties of the member.

(e) An elected official may not mail, as official mail, cards or other materials which express holiday greetings from the member or his or her family.

(f) An elected official may not mail, as official mail, information which would exceed the provisions of § 2-704 and § 2-707 of the act of fund raising appeals related to citizen-service activities established pursuant to § 1-1163.38 .

Legislative History

Apr. 7, 1977, D.C. Law 1-118, § 7, 23 DCR 8746; Mar. 16, 1982, D.C. Law 4-88, § 4, 29 DCR 458; Apr. 27, 2012, D.C. Law 19-124, § 501(h), 59 DCR 1862