Alaska State Legislature
News from the House Majority

Jerry Ritter, House Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801
Phone: (907) 465-3804
web site: http://www.akrepublicans.org
Actuality line: 1-800-478-6540

Senate Votes to get Politics out of State Publications

Measure Reduces Opportunities for Self-Promotion at State Expense

For Immediate Release: April 17, 1998 Contact: Rep. Gene Therriault at (907) 465-4797.

Juneau -- The Alaska Senate Friday unanimously passed House Bill 462, which curtails the increasingly prevalent practice of using state publications to further personal political agendas.

"We want to halt the slide of state documents into tools for blatant self-promotion," said Representative Gene Therriault (R-Fairbanks), the sponsor of HB 462. "These documents are supposed to be used to disseminate legitimate official information. However, they have begun to deteriorate into materials used for self-promotion," Therriault said.

HB 462 prohibits state agencies from placing an elected official's image or message on a state warrant, form, or direct deposit authorization. The bill specifically includes the Permanent Fund Dividend Program and the Longevity Bonus Program.

"The use of official publications for political purposes has the potential of politicizing the underlying programs themselves," Therriault said. "While there is probably not an elected official who would not jump at the chance to send political and personal messages to the electorate at state expense, this bill makes sure those sorts of messages are restricted to individual stationery or newsletters purchased through the appropriate accounts," Therriault said.

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