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Ethics committee debates whether legislators may use state resources to mail graduation certificates outside districts
Summary
Staff told the committee there were 15,000 requests for graduation certificates in 2025. Members debated whether mailed graduation or congratulatory letters paid from state resources serve a legislative purpose and agreed to recommended guidance limiting mailings to constituents (registered voters in a member's district) and to clarify use of office allowance.
The Legislative Ethics Committee spent significant time weighing the ethical and practical questions around graduation certificates and congratulatory letters that legislators send to constituents.
Staff reported a large volume of requests — "in 2025 there were requests for 15,000 of these that then were distributed" — and asked for direction from the committee about whether these mailings are an appropriate use of state resources and whether letters can be mailed to recipients outside a legislator's district (online schools complicate address verification).
Representative Elise Galvin recommended the committee include the benefit-and-loan list and graduation guidance in annual training material so legislators are reminded about disclosure and appropriate use of office resources. Some members suggested limiting state-funded graduation certificates to high school graduates and restricting distribution to registered voters in the legislator's district. Chair Joyce Anderson said office-allowance rules already list graduation certificates as an authorized use, suggesting in-house guidance and training might be the proper corrective rather than a blanket prohibition.
Members also discussed the print shop and postage mechanics: whether printing through the state print shop is charged back to the office allowance and how online schooling affects address verification. The committee directed staff to draft a standardized response and training note and to advise legislators that, absent clear constituent status, the legislator may use their office account or sign the material personally.
The committee did not adopt a rule forbidding graduation certificates; instead members reached consensus that distribution should be limited to constituents (registered voters in the member's district) and asked staff to prepare guidance and communication for members ahead of the next mailing season.
