(a) An elected official may not mail, as official mail, any mass mailing within the 90-day period that immediately precedes a primary, special, or general election in which such official is a candidate for office.
(b) An elected official may mail, as official mail, news releases or newsletters; provided, that such materials do not contain any of the following:
(1) Autobiographical articles;
(2) Political cartoons;
(3) References to past or future campaigns;
(4) Announcements of filings for reelection;
(5) Announcements of campaign schedules;
(6) Announcements of political or partisan meetings;
(7) Reports on family life; or
(8) Pictures of the official members with any partisan label such as “Democrat,” “Republican,” “Statehood Party,” or any other label which purports to advertise the member rather than to illustrate the accompanying text.
(c) An elected official may not use official mail to solicit directly or indirectly funds for any purpose.
(d) An elected official may not use official mail for transmission of matter which is purely personal to the sender or to any other person and is unrelated to the official business, activities, and duties of the member.
(e) An elected official may not mail, as official mail, cards or other materials which express holiday greetings from the member or his or her family.
(f) An elected official may not mail, as official mail, information which would exceed the provisions of § 2-704and § 2-707 of the act of fund raising appeals related to citizen-service activities established pursuant to § 1-1163.38.
CREDIT(S)
(Apr. 7, 1977, D.C. Law 1-118, § 7, 23 DCR 8746; Mar. 16, 1982, D.C. Law 4-88, § 4, 29 DCR 458; Apr. 27, 2012, D.C. Law 19-124, § 501(h), 59 DCR 1862.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-1706.
1973 Ed., § 1-1706.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 19-124, in subsec. (f), substituted “§ 1-1163.38” for “§ 2-704”.
Emergency Act Amendments
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 401(h) of Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and Comprehensive Ethics Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-298, January 29, 2012, 59 DCR 683).
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 1-118, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-701.
Law 4-88 was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 4-271, which was referred to the Committee on Government Operations. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on November 24, 1981 and December 8, 1981, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on January 20, 1982, it was assigned Act No. 4-142 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review.
For history of Law 19-124, see notes under § 2-592.