{"data":{"id":"us-ut/utah-code-20a-11-1205","jurisdiction":"us-ut","citation":"Utah Code § 20A-11-1205","heading":"Use of public email for a political purpose.","body":"(1) Except as provided in Subsection (5), a person may not send an email using the email of a public entity:\n(a) for a political purpose;\n(b) to advocate for or against a proposed initiative, initiative, proposed referendum, referendum, a proposed bond, a bond, or any ballot proposition; or\n(c) to solicit a campaign contribution.\n(2)\n(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:\n(i) up to $250 for a first violation; and\n(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.\n(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.\n(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.\n(4) For purposes of this section, one violation means one act of sending an email, regardless of the number of recipients of the email.\n(5) A person does not violate this section if:\n(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;\n(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;\n(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:\n(i) relates to the same proposed initiative, initiative, proposed referendum, or referendum; and\n(ii) complies with the requirements of Section 20A-7-401.5 or 20A-7-402; or\n(d) the person is engaging in:\n(i) an internal communication solely within the public entity;\n(ii) a communication solely with another public entity;\n(iii) a communication solely with legal counsel;\n(iv) a communication solely with the sponsors of an initiative or referendum;\n(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\n(vi) a communication solely with a person involved in a business transaction directly relating to a project described in Subsection (5)(d)(v).\n(6) A violation of this section does not invalidate an otherwise valid election.\n(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(26)(b)(i).","path":["Title 20A Election Code","Chapter 20A-11 Campaign and Financial Reporting Requirements","Part 20A-11-12 Political Activities of Public Entities Act"],"source_url":"https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title20A/Chapter11/20A-11-S1205.html","current_through":"2026 General Session","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-03T11:34:33Z","sha256":"52e146224dda2ba38d0676f75ee717bb16ff8230595212411746246686f6db29","source_id":"us-ut","stale":false,"prev":"us-ut/utah-code-20a-11-1204","next":"us-ut/utah-code-20a-11-1206"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}