The purpose of this document is to state the policy of the Legislative Branch regarding the use of the Internet and electronic mail by legislators and legislative employees when they access the Internet through equipment or other facilities provided or serviced by the Agency.

Electronic mail and access to the Internet provide a valuable communication tool for legislators, legislative staff, state agencies and the public. As with all other forms of communication, this tool must be managed in a manner that maintains public trust and confidence in the Legislature. One of the greatest distinctions, and dangers, of electronic mail and other forms of access to the Internet is that people treat it far more informally than other forms of business communications. People can copy and circulate it far more easily that traditional paper communications. In the interest of protecting the Legislature and its employees, the Legislative Council adopts the following guidelines to apply to all access of internal and external data communication systems:

1. Users of the system must respect the privacy of other users and their intellectual property or data. Users shall not intentionally seek information, obtain copies, modify files or data, or use passwords belonging to other users without proper authorization.
2. Users shall not represent themselves as another user, unless authorized to do so by that user.
3. Users shall respect the legal protection provided by copyright and licensing laws to software and data.
4. Users shall protect the integrity of the Legislature’s computer system. Users shall not intentionally propagate programs that harass other users or infiltrate a computer or computer system.
5. Users shall not damage or alter the software or other components of legislative computers or computer systems, or install unauthorized software or hardware peripherals.

The law regulating use of public assets and resources permits legislators and legislative employees to make use of the Internet fully for legislative-related purposes. This policy recognizes that legislators, in particular, have broad responsibility and interests related to their duties.

There is an exception to the general limit on the use of public resources. Under the exception a legislator or legislative employee may make limited use of state resources and property, including Internet access, for personal purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and the cost or value related to the use in nominal. See AS 24.60.030(a)(2)(A).

APPROPRIATE USE

Legislators and staff may use legislative computers and computer systems to:

1. facilitate communications between legislators, staff, state agencies, citizens of the State, and others concerned with state business, including transfer of documents’;
2. access databases and files to obtain work-related reference material or to conduct legislative-related research, or other appropriate legislative business;
3. expedite administrative duties in direct support of work-related functions;
4. prepare information for use in bill preparation, committee hearings, and floor debates;
5. preserve historical information related to the Legislature; and
6. communicate with others to pursue professional and career development, including professional organizations.

No person shall use legislative computers and computer systems to:

1. violate any State or Federal law or regulation;
2. promote any commercial venture or political campaign;
3. raise funds or engage in public relations activities that are not directly related to state business;
4. intentionally disrupt network or system use by others, either by introducing worms or viruses or by other means;
5. misrepresent oneself, a state agency, the Legislature, a legislator, a state employee, or the State (including unauthorized use of another’s password or login code; or
6. transmit or, with foreknowledge, receive obscene materials.

If a legislator or legislative employee violates the above guidelines and missuses the person’s state-provided access to the Internet , the misuse may result in the person losing the Internet access and may constitute a violation of the Legislative Standards of Conduct established under AS 24.60. In addition, an employer may consider this misuse when evaluating the performance of a legislative employee, and serious misuse could lead to dismissal of the employee. Finally, certain types of misuse could result in criminal prosecution and/or civil liability.

GENERATION OF INFORMATION BY INDIVIDUAL LEGISLATORS OR GROUPS OF LEGISLATORS

If a legislator or a group of legislators wishes to create and maintain a personal home page and have it point (or link) to the data residing on the State’s or Legislature’s Web server, the legislator or group of legislators may do so. However, state resources (e.g., personnel, hardware, or software) may not be utilized to create a linkage from the State’s WWW data to an individual’s or group’s personally created homepage with the exception of the House and Senate Majority Web site(1) and the House and Senate Minority Web site(1) which is approved by the Legislative Council.

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