Rules on how websites portray officials advance

04/20/2005

Dane Smith, Star Tribune
April 20, 2005

Attention, government webmasters: Blowing your boss’ horn too loudly could soon be illegal.

Liberal use of photos, personal information or other forms of self-promotion by public officials on taxpayer-financed websites would be curtailed under a measure overwhelmingly approved by a Senate subcommittee Tuesday.

The new language, in an amendment to a larger bill, would require that material on official government websites be “directly related to the legal functions, duties and jurisdiction” of the public officials.

It would prohibit the use of more than one photograph of an elected official and bar links to campaign websites or other political organizations. But some biographical information about the officials could still be included.

“When we as government officials are using a government-financed medium, it should not be used in a way that crosses over to self-promotion or campaigning,” said Sen. Sheila Kiscaden, IP-Rochester, the author of the language and chairwoman of the State Government Budget Division that approved it.

Kiscaden said she is pushing for the change in part because of persistent criticism by Legislative Auditor James Nobles. He has drawn attention to the contrast between tough state regulations against self-promotion in printed or mailed material and silence on electronic communication.

The perception that websites were getting too personal and political was fed by Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, who held a news conference recently to poke fun at Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s extensive use of childhood photos on his official site. Pawlenty quickly removed the photos, saying that he never really cared for them and that they were placed there shortly after his election to help Minnesotans get acquainted with him.

Only one member of the subcommittee, Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, voted against the measure. He said he thought the legislation, which prohibits the use of phrases like “greetings from” or “the compliments of,” was too nitpicky.

“We’re being a little too stoic and clean by dictating salutations and actual language,” he said. “Websites are informational tools and there should be a line, but I don’t see why an individual senator can’t have a link to their own [campaign or personal] website. There should be an ability to inform people about what you’re doing.”

No matching language has been approved by the House, but Kiscaden said she believes it will be acceptable to House members and Pawlenty. The amendment was attached to a bill that creates a new chief information officer and an independent Office of Enterprise Technology for the state. That proposal is one of the components in Pawlenty’s Drive to Excellence program, a batch of efficiencies aimed at improving service and saving money.