Advisory on Political Activities

Dear Colleagues,

As we enter the full swing of campaign season, now is a great time to re-post an advisory from the UC Office of General Counsel regarding political campaign activities. Please take time to review the resources below and familiarize yourself with what is/is not permissible. This is not to be taken lightly - there are state and federal laws prohibiting the use of public resources for political and campaign activities and the misuse of these resources could result in criminal and civil penalties.

The University strongly supports civic engagement by members of the University community. At the same time, we need to recognize that we are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and therefore prohibited from engaging in certain political campaign activities. UC's legal team is available to answer your questions and provide guidance.

Below is an excerpt from the UC's Office of General Counsel advisory on political activities. The full advisory is linked below.

The University strongly supports public and civic engagement by members of the University community, in both their professional and personal capacities. At the same time, as both a Section[1] 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization and a state entity, the University is prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in political campaign activities: 1) supporting or opposing candidates for elective public office (“electioneering”); and 2) supporting or opposing measures that have qualified for the ballot. These restrictions apply to the activities of the University overall, as well as to activities of individual University faculty and staff acting in their capacity as representatives of the University and/or using University resources.

This advisory, previously issued in 2019, is being re-issued now in light of the upcoming election cycle to remind the University community of the applicable rules and about the importance of complying with them.

… It is important for all University employees to comply with these rules. There are potential criminal and civil penalties for misuse of public resources, and, in the case of the federal rules that govern tax-exempt charitable organizations, the University's tax-exempt status could be revoked (and/or substantial tax penalties imposed) by an activity that constitutes electioneering.

Please visit https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2024/02/ogc-guidance-on-political-activities.html for details.

If you have any questions, please contact UC ANR Government and Community Relations at ammegaro@ucanr.edu, (530) 750-1218 or Sheron Violini, Associate Director at sviolini@ucanr.edu, (530) 461-3441. You may also contact UC Office of General Counsel directly as posted on the advisory website.

Anne Megaro
Government and Community Relations Director

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