Campaign Finance Regulation

ORS 260.432
Solicitation of public employees

  • activities of public employees during working hours
  • recognized student government exception

(1)

No person shall attempt to, or actually, coerce, command or require a public employee to influence or give money, service or other thing of value to promote or oppose any political committee or to promote or oppose the nomination or election of a candidate, the gathering of signatures on an initiative, referendum or recall petition, the adoption of a measure or the recall of a public office holder.

(2)

No public employee shall solicit any money, influence, service or other thing of value or otherwise promote or oppose any political committee or promote or oppose the nomination or election of a candidate, the gathering of signatures on an initiative, referendum or recall petition, the adoption of a measure or the recall of a public office holder while on the job during working hours. However, this section does not restrict the right of a public employee to express personal political views.

(3)

Each public employer shall have posted in a conspicuous place likely to be seen by its employees the following notice in printed or typewritten form:
ATTENTION ALL PUBLIC EMPLOYEES:
The restrictions imposed by the law of the State of Oregon on your political activities are that “No public employee shall solicit any money, influence, service or other thing of value or otherwise promote or oppose any political committee or promote or oppose the nomination or election of a candidate, the gathering of signatures on an initiative, referendum or recall petition, the adoption of a measure or the recall of a public office holder while on the job during working hours. However, this section does not restrict the right of a public employee to express personal political views.”
It is therefore the policy of the state and of your public employer that you may engage in political activity except to the extent prohibited by state law when on the job during working hours.

(4)

(a) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2) of this section:

(A)

The recognized student government of a community college or public university listed in ORS 352.002 (Public universities), or a member of the recognized student government while acting as a member, may make a statement or issue a resolution to promote or oppose:

(i)

The gathering of signatures on an initiative or referendum petition; or

(ii)

The adoption of a measure.

(B)

A member of the board of education of a community college district, a member of the governing board, as defined in ORS 352.029 (Definitions for ORS 352.025 to 352.146 and 352.388 to 352.415), of a public university or an employee of a community college or public university may take any action as a public employee that is necessary to allow the recognized student government, or member of the recognized student government, to engage in activities described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.

(b)

Except for facilitating the actions described in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the recognized student government of a community college or public university, or a member of the recognized student government while acting as a member, may not use mandatory student-initiated fees, mandatory enrollment fees, mandatory incidental fees or any public moneys to promote or oppose any political committee or promote or oppose the nomination or election of a candidate, the gathering of signatures on an initiative, referendum or recall petition, the adoption of a measure or the recall of a public office holder.

(5)

Nothing in this section prohibits an employee of the legislative branch from explaining the vote of a member of the Legislative Assembly on:

(a)

An Act that has been referred to the people by law or petition under Article IV, section 1 (3), of the Oregon Constitution;

(b)

An Act for which a prospective referendum petition has been filed under ORS 250.045 (Prospective petition); or

(c)

A constitutional amendment or revision proposed under Article XVII, section 1 or 2, of the Oregon Constitution.

(6)

As used in this section:

(a)

“Public employee” does not include an elected official or a person appointed as a director to the board of a pilot education service district under ORS 334.108 (Number of board members).

(b)

“Public employer” includes any board, commission, committee, department, division or institution in the executive, administrative, legislative or judicial branch of state government, and any county, city, district or other municipal corporation or public corporation organized for a public purpose, including a cooperative body formed between municipal or public corporations. [Formerly 260.231; 1973 c.53 §1; 1973 c.744 §27a; 1979 c.190 §372; 1979 c.519 §35a; 1983 c.71 §9; 1983 c.392 §1; 1985 c.565 §39; 1985 c.808 §62; 1987 c.718 §3; 1993 c.493 §106; 2007 c.589 §§7,8; 2010 c.9 §§15,16; 2013 c.13 §2; 2019 c.377 §1]

Notes of Decisions

City charter and ordinance provisions which subjected municipal political activities of city employes during nonworking hours to virtually complete restrictions were preempted by this section, which is general law establishing permissible degree of regulation of public employe's political freedom. Williams v. City of Astoria, 43 Or App 745, 604 P2d 411 (1979), Sup Ct review denied

Prohibition against requiring public employee to support political cause does not supersede right of exclusive representative of employees to collect payment-in-lieu-of-dues to support political position affecting rights of represented employees. Carlson v. AFSCME, 73 Or App 755, 700 P2d 260 (1985), Sup Ct review denied

Atty. Gen. Opinions

Application of federal Hatch Political Activities Act to employes who run for partisan elective office, (1978) Vol 38, p 1826; because ORS 352.105 does not require that programs funded with mandatory incidental fees be under supervision or control of boards that collect them, this section does not prohibit State Board of Higher Education from providing mandatory incidental fees to student organization that would use incidental fees to advocate for or against ballot measure, (2015) No. 8289

Chapter 260

Atty. Gen. Opinions

Application to committee collecting contributions to establish fund to defray elected official's expenses incurred in performing political functions of office, (1980) Vol 40, p 11; preemption by federal law of campaign financing with respect to federal candidates, (1981) Vol 41, p 420

Law Review Citations

50 OLR 299-321 (1971); 55 OLR 253-266 (1976)

Source

Last accessed
Jun. 26, 2021

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