Complaint Opinion 19-13

Date

03/25/2020

Number

2019 – No. 13

Topic

Use of public resources to assist a campaign

Respondent

House Democratic Caucus

Question/Complaint

Is it a violation of RCW 42.52.180 to include on the official caucus Twitter account a list that linked to unofficial Twitter accounts, some of which contained campaign material?

Summary

Yes. Official social media accounts are “facilities of an agency” under RCW 42.52.180 and linking to unofficial social media accounts that contain campaign material is a violation. Reasonable cause found. Complaint dismissed under per RCW 42.52.425 because link was immediately removed when complaint filed.

Document

ETHICSCOM2019.13 (PDF 1.01 Megabytes)