1. CHECK YOUR STATE
   1. PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
      1. Less than half of the states include state employees in their definitions of "public official" and of those, most only include high-level employees. Effective June 2008, Illinois added "sworn law enforcement or peace officers" to their definition.
   2. EXCLUDING LEGISLATORS
      1. A few states, including New Hampshire and North Carolina, exclude legislators from definition of "public official?" In New Mexico, legislators are excluded from certain ethics laws that govern public officials.
   3. STATE VARIATIONS
      1. Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon define "public official" differently for different state statutes. Texas defines "appointed officer," "elected officer," "state employee," and "state officer" separately.
2. 10A.01 DEFINITIONS.pdf
   1. Minn. Stat. § 10A.01 DEFINITIONS
      1. Subd. 35. Public official. "Public official" means any:
         1. (1) member of the legislature;
         2. (2) individual employed by the legislature as secretary of the senate, legislative auditor, chief clerk of the house of representatives, revisor of statutes, or researcher, legislative analyst, or attorney in the Office of Senate Counsel and Research or House Research;
         3. (3) constitutional officer in the executive branch and the officer's chief administrative deputy;
         4. (4) solicitor general or deputy, assistant, or special assistant attorney general;
         5. (5) commissioner, deputy commissioner, or assistant commissioner of any state department or agency as listed in section 15.01 or 15.06, or the state chief information officer;
         6. (6) member, chief administrative officer, or deputy chief administrative officer of a state board or commission that has either the power to adopt, amend, or repeal rules under chapter 14, or the power to adjudicate contested cases or appeals under chapter 14;
         7. (7) individual employed in the executive branch who is authorized to adopt, amend, or repeal rules under chapter 14 or adjudicate contested cases under chapter 14;
         8. (8) executive director of the State Board of Investment;
         9. (9) deputy of any official listed in clauses (7) and (8);
         10. (10) judge of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals;
         11. (11) administrative law judge or compensation judge in the State Office of Administrative Hearings or unemployment law judge in the Department of Employment and Economic Development;
         12. (12) member, regional administrator, division director, general counsel, or operations manager of the Metropolitan Council;
         13. (13) member or chief administrator of a metropolitan agency;
         14. (14) director of the Division of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement in the Department of Public Safety;
         15. (15) member or executive director of the Higher Education Facilities Authority;
         16. (16) member of the board of directors or president of Enterprise Minnesota, Inc.;
         17. (17) member of the board of directors or executive director of the Minnesota State High School League;
         18. (18) member of the Minnesota Ballpark Authority established in section 473.755;
         19. (19) citizen member of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources;
         20. (20) manager of a watershed district, or member of a watershed management organization as defined under section 103B.205, subdivision 13;
         21. (21) supervisor of a soil and water conservation district;
         22. (22) director of Explore Minnesota Tourism;
         23. (23) citizen member of the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council established in section 97A.056;
         24. (24) citizen member of the Clean Water Council established in section 114D.30; or
         25. (25) member or chief executive of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority established in section 473J.07.
3. 1 USC § 2 - “County” as including “parish”, and so forth
4. STATE OR TERRITORY
   1. POLITICAL SUBDIVISION
5. JUDICIAL BRANCH
   1. Eight states exclude members of the judicial branch from their definition of public official.
      1. CALIFORNIA
      2. IOWA
      3. MICHIGAN
      4. MINNESOTA
      5. MISSISSIPPI
      6. MONTANA
      7. OKLAHOMA
      8. SOUTH CAROLINA
         1. designates probate judges as public officials.
6. 50 State Table_ Definitions of Public Official and Public Officer.pdf
   1. DEFINITIONS
      1. PUBLIC OFFICIAL
         1. Black's Law Dictionary a "public official" is "[o]ne who holds or is invested with a public office; a person elected or appointed to carry out some portion of a government's sovereign powers."
            1. STATE LEVEL
            2. ELECTED
            3. APPOINTED
            4. LOCAL LEVEL
            5. ELECTED
            6. APPOINTED
      2. PUBLIC OFFICER