Today, I signed into law Senate Bill 198, which requires all state agencies and political subdivisions to adopt a social networking and social media policy ("policy") that would apply to the use of social media by state employees and employees of any political subdivision of this state to discourage abusive or offensive online behavior.
Senate Bill 198 contains ambiguities regarding the employees to which it applies and when and where the policy would apply. In order to resolve these ambiguities and protect the first amendment rights of state employees, I hereby order all state agencies that develop any policy pursuant to Senate Bill 198 make the policy apply to all agency employees and limit it only to employee conduct while in their capacity as a state employee, on state time, and using state resources.
Copies of this Executive Order shall be distributed to all Cabinet Secretaries and to the Chief Administrative Officers of all state agencies for immediate implementation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma to be affixed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, this 3rd day of May, 2019.
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
J. Kevin Stitt
ATTEST:
Michael Rogers
Secretary of State
Okla. Admin. Code § 1:2019-20