At issue in this opinion was whether legislators could use public resources to issue a press release in response to the Governor's criticism of tax cuts and those legislator/candidates who supported the cuts.

Print Version | No está disponible en español

Inside the Legislature

		Find Your Legislator
		Visiting the Legislature
		Agendas, Schedules and Calendars
		Bill Information

	Advisory Opinions
	Complaint Opinions

Type	Advisory Opinion
Date	9/4/1996
Number	96-11
Topic	Press releases - Normal and Regular Conduct
Issue/Question	At issue in this opinion was whether legislators could use public resources to issue a press release in response to the Governor's criticism of tax cuts and those legislator/candidates who supported the cuts.
Summary	The Board said that the issuance of press releases to inform constituents about legislative matters is well within the traditional understanding of legislative duty. In addition, in determining whether a particular responsive press release qualifies as "normal and regular conduct: pursuant to RCW 42.52.180, the Board will consider (1) the timeliness of the response, (2) the proximity of the response to an election, (3) the relevance of the response to a legislative issue and to the initial outside statement, (4) the source of the initial outside statement, and (5) the tone and tenor of the response. Self-initiated press releases from legislators, using public resources, are very different from responses to outside sources and deserve a highler level of scrutiny.
	View this publication in Acrobat (PDF) Format