Section 20A-11-1205 - Use of public email for a political purpose(1) Except as provided in Subsection (5), a person may not send an email using the email of a public entity: (a) for a political purpose;(b) to advocate for or against a proposed initiative, initiative, proposed referendum, referendum, a proposed bond, a bond, or any ballot proposition; or(c) to solicit a campaign contribution.(2)(a) The lieutenant governor shall, after giving the person and the complainant notice and an opportunity to be heard, impose a civil fine against a person who violates Subsection (1) as follows: (i) up to $250 for a first violation; and(ii) except as provided in Subsection (3), for each subsequent violation committed after the lieutenant governor imposes a fine against the person for a first violation, $1,000 multiplied by the number of violations committed by the person.(b) A person may, within 30 days after the day on which the lieutenant governor imposes a fine against the person under this Subsection (2), appeal the fine to a district court.(3) The lieutenant governor shall consider a violation of this section as a first violation if the violation is committed more than seven years after the day on which the person last committed a violation of this section.(4) For purposes of this section, one violation means one act of sending an email, regardless of the number of recipients of the email.(5) A person does not violate this section if: (a) the lieutenant governor finds that the email described in Subsection (1) was inadvertently sent by the person using the email of a public entity;(b) the person is directly providing information solely to another person or a group of people in response to a question asked by the other person or group of people;(c) the information the person emails is an argument or rebuttal argument prepared under Section 20A-7-401.5 or 20A-7-402, and the email includes each opposing argument and rebuttal argument that: (i) relates to the same proposed initiative, initiative, proposed referendum, or referendum; and(ii) complies with the requirements of Section 20A-7-401.5 or 20A-7-402; or(d) the person is engaging in: (i) an internal communication solely within the public entity;(ii) a communication solely with another public entity;(iii) a communication solely with legal counsel;(iv) a communication solely with the sponsors of an initiative or referendum;(v) a communication solely with a land developer for a project permitted by a local land use law that is challenged by a proposed referendum or a referendum; or(vi) a communication solely with a person involved in a business transaction directly relating to a project described in Subsection (5)(d)(v).(6) A violation of this section does not invalidate an otherwise valid election.(7) An email sent in violation of Subsection (1), as determined by the records officer, constitutes a record, as defined in Section 63G-2-103, that is subject to the provisions of Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, notwithstanding any applicability of Subsection 63G-2-103(25)(b)(i).Amended by Chapter 22, 2020 General Session ,§ 26, eff. 5/12/2020.Amended by Chapter 203, 2019 General Session ,§ 40, eff. 5/14/2019.Amended by Chapter 44, 2018 General Session ,§ 1, eff. 5/8/2018.Amended by Chapter 68, 2017 General Session ,§ 2, eff. 5/9/2017.Added by Chapter 435, 2015 General Session ,§ 5, eff. 5/12/2015.