Advisory Opinion 19-02
Date
08/13/2019
Number
2019 – No. 2
Requester
Board’s own motion
Topic
Use of State Resources to Film Video Identifying a Business
Issue/Question
May a legislator use public resources to film a video, in his or her district, in which the name of a local business might be seen or in which the member might be filmed walking through the business, when the focus of the video is the impact the legislature’s actions have had or will have on that business or other businesses in the member’s district?Summary
A legislator may make a video using public resources to inform constituents, including local businesses, about the impact on them of legislative action. The video may include images of local businesses, including business names, in the background of the video, as long as the legislator featured in the video in no way promotes the business, the video is produced for the purpose of informing constituents about legislative action (benefit others) and there is a tangible legislative nexus between the content of the video and legislative work.