ARLINGTON, Va.—On Friday, the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) reversed their policy of considering voluntary trainings as monetary gifts given to Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners (ANCs). This policy reversal comes in response to a letter sent by the Institute for Justice (IJ), which had threatened to file a lawsuit on behalf of Greater Greater Washington (GGWash), who had previously been denied their First Amendment right to hold those trainings.

“This is a victory for the First Amendment and for people who wish to exercise their right to talk to elected officials,” said IJ Attorney Ben Field. “We are pleased that BEGA and the D.C. government have reversed their unconstitutional interpretation of the District’s ethics rules.”

GGWash—a nonprofit that promotes better governance on a range of issues in Greater Washington—first learned about BEGA’s ban in 2023 when it sought to host trainings for newly elected ANCs. ANCs are a unique feature of the District’s Home Rule Charter and the first line of representation for residents of the District. They are divided into 46 distinct commissions with about 350 total individual commissioners each representing about 2,000 people. The main job of an ANC is “to be their neighborhood’s official voice in advising the District government (and Federal agencies) on matters that affect their neighborhoods.” ANCs are an unpaid position, with virtually all members having other full- or part-time jobs.  

To help ANCs navigate the complexities of D.C. government, GGWash wanted to provide free, voluntary training sessions to help ANCs better understand the resources available to them and how they could provide a more effective voice for their constituents. In other words, GGWash wants to speak to government officials about how to do their jobs well.

But when BEGA heard about GGWash’s proposed trainings, it sent an email to all ANCs informing them that the trainings were prohibited “gifts” under the District’s ethics rules. As a result, attending a training could subject an ANC to thousands of dollars in civil penalties.

Now, faced with the prospect of defending that position in a First Amendment lawsuit, BEGA has reversed course and concluded that free trainings like GGWash’s are not prohibited gifts.

“This was the right decision all along,” said Chelsea Allinger, executive director of GGWash. “Our organization, and others like it, have a First Amendment right to provide information to our officials. A lack of knowledge can only hurt government officials and the people they represent. We’re excited to resume hosting trainings for ANCs, particularly with the recent election ushering in new commissioners who stand to benefit from this information the most, so that they can provide their constituents with informed, effective representation.”

IJ has been at the forefront of the fight against laws that hamstring the political speech of ordinary citizens and entrench political insiders. The First Amendment protects the right of Americans to speak, and the Supreme Court has held that providing advice or instruction is protected speech. To protect free speech rights, IJ litigates to protect commercial, occupational and political speech. The Institute for Justice has also litigated groundbreaking cases in defense of occupational speech, protecting authors, tour guides, interior designers and others who speak for a living or offer advice from government regulations designed to stifle or silence their speech.

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To arrange interviews on this subject, journalists may contact Phillip Suderman, IJ’s Communications Project Manager, at [email protected] or (850) 376-4110. More information on IJ’s First Amendment work can be found here: https://ij.org/issues/first-amendment/