Commission holds work session on draft acceptable-use policy after state law expands penalties for personal use of public property

County attorneys led a work session to explain HB 163 (the state law on personal use of public property) and to present a draft county Acceptable Use Policy intended to protect county employees from inadvertent felony exposure while preventing misuse of county resources.

Robert Moore of the County Attorney’s Office said HB 163 (with an effective date of July 1, 2019) applies broadly to public servants, including elected officials, employees, judges and contractors, and can carry felony penalties for unauthorized personal use. Moore illustrated the statute’s broad reach with examples: taking a pen or plugging a personal phone into county outlets could be construed as personal use if not authorized by written policy. To address those risks, Moore presented a three-part draft resolution: (1) create a written county policy that authorizes incidental personal use for public servants, (2) tie incidental use to a value threshold (a dollar limit left blank in the draft for later decision), and (3) include a savings clause allowing an employee who unintentionally violates the rule to reimburse the county or pay the value of the use within a short period to avoid felony exposure.

Commissioners and staff discussed tradeoffs. Some members supported a pre-authorized savings clause and a reasonable dollar threshold to protect employees from criminal liability for benign conduct; others flagged legal risk that a savings clause could be challenged because state law still applies. Commissioners asked that the draft be circulated to department heads and HR, and they directed staff to put the policy on a forthcoming meeting agenda (targets discussed included the 17th/18th or the 24th) after giving employees an opportunity to review and comment. Moore said he had reviewed similar drafts from seven other jurisdictions and will continue to work with HR and department heads to finalize the proposal.