Board approves amended advisory opinion on political uses of office, limits Safe Harbor to governor’s office staff

The Executive Ethics Board approved an amended advisory opinion clarifying how state employees may use office resources for political purposes and specifying the scope of a proposed Safe Harbor.

Staff (Staff member) told the board the draft included statutory renumbering and non-substantive cleanups resulting from recodification and explained edits intended to make the opinion “camera ready.” Board members pressed staff for clarity on two related questions about use of state versus personal email and sought explicit reference to statutory responsibilities to protect the governor and lieutenant governor. One board member said the statutory duty to protect elected officials should be preserved verbatim in the opinion’s answers so there is no implied exception for newly elected or lame-duck officeholders.

During discussion staff confirmed that the Safe Harbor language in the draft was agency-specific and "would only provide Safe Harbor for the governor's office staff," and board members agreed to incorporate language ensuring the statutory protection duties were explicitly stated across questions where relevant. The board voted to approve the advisory opinion with the agreed amendments; members moved and seconded the motion and recorded affirmative voice votes.

The approved changes are procedural edits and a clarifying amendment to Safe Harbor scope; staff said they will finalize the opinion text with the agreed modifications before circulating the camera-ready version to the board.