New State Law prohibits Use of “AlertNow” and Other Automated Notification Systems to Communicate the Date, Time and Location of Pending Referenda
As of July 1, 2013 Boards of Education will no longer be allowed to use their AlertNow, e-mail, texting or other automated notification systems to notify parents or guardians of the time, date and location of budget referenda.
The new law was part of the “implementer” statute signed by Governor Malloy on June 19, 2013. Specifically, as of July 1, 2013,
“[n]o person shall use or authorize the use of municipal funds to send an unsolicited communication to a group of residents regarding a referendum via electronic mail, text or telephone or other electronic or automated means for the purpose of reminding or encouraging such residents to vote in a referendum, provided such prohibition shall not apply to a regularly published newsletter or similar publication.”[1]
This new prohibition effectively resolves an open issue that has been raised in more than one town recently about whether sending notice of the time, date and place via AlertNow to a “target audience” of parents and guardians violates Connecticut General Statutes Section 9-369b.
Connecticut General Statutes Section 9-369b forbids the expenditure of public funds to influence any person to vote for or against any referendum question. This law is enforced by the State Election Enforcement Commission (“SEEC”).
When a referendum is officially pending, school districts are prevented from using their resources (computers, paper, copiers, public address systems, etc.) to publish or distribute materials advocating a position on the referendum. In a number of decisions, the SEEC has previously determined that school districts could use automated, “Robo call” systems (AlertNow, e.g.) to give parents a notice of the date, time and place of referenda.[2] Now, as a result of this new law, an electronic or automated communication to a target audience of the time, date and place of a referendum – or even just a reminder to vote – is no longer permissible.