TITLE
WITHDRAWN
Recommendation to, by motion of the City Council, request City Attorney to prepare an ordinance for Council consideration precluding use of the City Seal for anything other than official City business or when approved by the City Council. Ordinance to include penalties for violation.
DISCUSSION
The City seal and logo are the property of the City of Long Beach and are designated to identify official City business, facilities, events, and publications.
Long Beach does not currently have code specifying allowable and prohibited uses of the City seal and logo. Therefore, there is no mechanism to prevent unauthorized use that could lead to public misperception that an event, candidate, endorsement, or position is officially sanctioned by the City.
Such an ordinance would designate the City Clerk as the custodian of the City seal and logo, and establish that the City seal and logo shall only be used to conduct official business, and make the unauthorized use or reproduction of the City seal or logo a misdemeanor punishable with a $1,000 fine;
Deception and Gift of Public Resources:
State law specifically prevents the use or the allowance of use of any reproduction of the seal of a local government agency in any campaign literature or mass mailing with the intent to deceive the voters. If the use of the seal is made in a manner which "creates a misleading, erroneous, or false impression that the document is authorized by a public official," this would be evidence of intent to deceive.
Use of the City Seal in campaign literature without the City's consent, and without the required disclaimer could very well constitute intent to deceive under these statutes.
Furthermore, the use of City property for political activity could also be deemed unconstitutional. If there is a determination that no public purpose was advanced by such use of City property, an illegal gift of public funds could result. Although the courts have liberally interpreted t...
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