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Senate backs third substitute to impose civil fines for misuse of government email for campaigns
Summary
SB137 was amended on the floor to increase monetary penalties for misuse of government accounts in political campaigning (e.g., $250 first offense; $1,000 repeat) and gave the lieutenant governor discretion to waive fines for inadvertent replies, while excluding 'gotcha' prosecutions for honest mistakes.
Senator Weiler and sponsor presented a third substitute to SB137, a bill designed to address misuse of government email or databases for campaign activity. The substitute increased the civil fine amounts the lieutenant governor's office can impose (sponsor described raising a base fine to $250 and a repeat fine to $1,000) and added an anti‑'gotcha' provision allowing the lieutenant governor discretion to waive penalties when someone inadvertently used a government account.
Sponsor said the measure responds to recurring incidents where public employees or officials used government resources for political messaging and that criminal prosecutions for such acts are rare. The amendment aimed to create a civil enforcement tool with escalating penalties while allowing administrative discretion for inadvertent cases.
Floor action adopted the third substitute and the Senate ordered the third substitute to be read for a third time; the measure will next be considered in further readings and committee follow‑up as necessary.
