Rules for city sponsorship agreements and naming rights

(a) The following requirements apply to sponsorship agreements that solely confer a tangible acknowledgement and expression of gratitude for the sponsor for purposes of sponsorship recognition: (1) The city may not relinquish any aspect of the city’s right to direct, manage, and control the city asset; (2) The tangible acknowledgement and expression of gratitude, publications relating to the tangible acknowledgement and expression of gratitude, and any publicity relating to the tangible acknowledgement and expression of gratitude must conform to all applicable laws and rules, including but not limited to Chapter 21, Article 7 , pertaining to sign regulations, and HRS Chapter 445, Part IV, pertaining to outdoor advertising, including billboards; (3) The sponsorship may not create a conflict of interest for the city as determined by the corporation counsel; (4) The sponsorship agreement may not confer a personal benefit, directly or indirectly, to any particular city officer or employee as determined by the sponsorship agreement and applicable rules and regulations; (5) Sponsorships may not constitute an endorsement of the sponsor or its services and products, or create any proprietary interest of the sponsor in the city or the city assets as determined by the sponsorship agreement and applicable rules and regulations; (6) Except as specifically provided in the sponsorship agreement, the city’s name, seal, or logo may not be used in materials, communications, or advertisements, including but not limited to, print, video, internet, broadcast, or display items developed to promote or communicate the sponsorship; (7) The sponsorship may not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, including gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, ancestry, national origin, or disability; (8) The tangible acknowledgement and expression of gratitude, branding for the tangible acknowledgement and expression of gratitude, publicity for the tangible acknowledgement and expression of gratitude, and advertising for the tangible acknowledgement and expression of gratitude in conjunction with the sponsorship agreement may not contain the following: (A) Obscenity; (B) Pornography; (C) Incitement to imminent lawless action; (D) Speech presenting a grave and imminent threat; (E) Fighting words; (F) Fraudulent material; (G) True threats; (H) Defamatory, libelous, or slanderous material; (I) Solicitations to commit, or speech integral to, criminal conduct; (J) The promotion of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, or adult entertainment; (K) Political campaign speech, or speech that: (i) Supports or opposes or appears to support or oppose: (aa) A ballot measure or initiative; or (bb) Any legislative proposal that is currently pending before any legislative body in the State; or (ii) Refers to any person in or campaigning for public office; provided that this paragraph must not be construed to prohibit the display of any speech content that is protected under the First Amendment of the United States and State Constitutions as determined by the corporation counsel; or (L) Religious speech that advocates or opposes a religion or religious belief; (9) The sponsorship agreement must specify whether the sponsorship for a particular asset will be exclusive or non-exclusive; (10) For the sponsorship of programs, recognition of the sponsor must be as determined by the sponsorship agreement and applicable rules and regulations and may include the following, or any combination thereof, during the term of the sponsorship agreement: (A) Appropriate mention in media releases and promotional materials of the sponsor for the city program; (B) Appropriate sponsorship recognition or display at the city program location; (C) Appropriate recognition on the program website as a sponsor for the program; or (D) Other possible benefits as negotiated; (11) Sponsorship agreements, at the discretion of the director of an executive agency, may provide that the sponsor must defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the city, its officers, agents, and employees against all liability, loss, damage, cost, and expense, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of or resulting from the acts or omissions of the sponsor, its directors, employees, officers, agents, or contractors, in connection with the sponsorship and the sponsorship agreement; (12) Sponsorship agreements must expressly provide the terms under which the sponsorship agreement may be terminated by the parties, including for city termination, when the sponsorship is no longer in the best interest of the city; (13) Sponsorship agreements must expressly provide that the city retains its rights and discretion to exercise full editorial control over the placement, content, appearance, and wording of the tangible acknowledgement and expression of gratitude, affiliations, and messages; and (14) Sponsorship agreements must expressly prohibit materials that advocate, contain price information or an indication of associated savings or value, request a response, or contain comparative or qualitative descriptions of products, services, or organizations. (b) The following requirements apply to sponsorship agreements that solely confer naming rights for a facility to the sponsor for purposes of sponsorship recognition: (1) The city may not relinquish any aspect of the city’s right to direct, manage, and control the facility except with respect to the name of the facility for the duration of the sponsorship agreement; (2) Any physical form of the name of the facility on the facility itself, publications for the facility, and publicity for the facility must conform to all applicable laws and rules, including but not limited to Chapter 21, Article 7 , pertaining to sign regulations, and HRS Chapter 445, Part IV, pertaining to outdoor advertising, including billboards; (3) The sponsorship may not create a conflict of interest for the city as determined by the city’s corporation counsel; (4) Sponsorships may not constitute an endorsement of the sponsor or its services and products or create any proprietary interest of the sponsor in the city or the facility as determined by the sponsorship agreement and applicable rules and regulations; (5) The sponsorship may not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, including gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, ancestry, national origin, or disability; (6) The name of the facility and any branding, publicity, and advertising for the facility in conjunction with the naming rights conferred by the sponsorship agreement may not contain the following: (A) Obscenity; (B) Pornography; (C) Incitement to imminent lawless action; (D) Speech presenting a grave and imminent threat; (E) Fighting words; (F) Fraudulent material; (G) True threats; (H) Defamatory, libelous, or slanderous material; (I) Solicitations to commit, or speech integral to, criminal conduct; (J) The promotion of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, or adult entertainment; (K) Political campaign speech, or speech that: (i) Supports or opposes or appears to support or oppose: (aa) A ballot measure or initiative; or (bb) Any legislative proposal that is currently pending before any legislative body in the State; or (ii) Refers to any person in or campaigning for public office; provided that this paragraph must not be construed to prohibit the display of any speech content that is protected under the First Amendment of the United States and State Constitutions, as determined by the corporation counsel; or (L) Religious speech that advocates or opposes a religion or religious belief; (7) Sponsorship agreements, at the discretion of the director of an executive agency, may provide that the sponsor must defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the city, its officers, agents, and employees against all liability, loss, damage, cost, and expense, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of or resulting from the acts or omissions of the sponsor, its directors, employees, officers, agents, or contractors, in connection with the sponsorship and the sponsorship agreement; (8) Sponsorship agreements must expressly provide the terms under which the sponsorship agreement may be terminated by the parties, including for city termination, when the sponsorship is no longer in the best interest of the city; (9) Sponsorship agreements must expressly provide that the city retains its rights and discretion to exercise full editorial control over the placement, content, and appearance of the name of the facility and the facility’s affiliations and messages; and (10) Sponsorship agreements must expressly prohibit materials that advocate, contain price information or an indication of associated savings or value, request a response, or contain comparative or qualitative descriptions of products, services, or organizations. (c) The following sponsorships will not be accepted: (1) Sponsorships by persons that practice or promote discrimination based on race, color, creed, religion, sex, including gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, ancestry, national origin, or disability; (2) Sponsorships by persons opposing the city in a pending or ongoing legal proceeding; and (3) Sponsorships that involve situations where the corporation counsel determines that there would be or are conflicts of interest.