Relating to permissible gifts offered to, accepted, or received by public officials, public employees, candidates, and certain family members

Current law generally prohibits public officials, public employees, candidates, and members of such persons’ immediate family from receiving gifts from restricted donors. However, certain limited exceptions are provided, and such persons may receive as a gift, among other things, nonmonetary items with a value of $3 or less from any one restricted donor during one calendar day. Similarly, unless otherwise provided in Code, an organization or association which has as one of its purposes the encouragement of the passage, defeat, introduction, or modification of legislation is prohibited from giving, and a member of the general assembly is prohibited from receiving food, beverages, registration, or scheduled entertainment with a per person value in excess of $3. This bill increases the value for permitted gifts described in the bill from $3 a day to $20 a week.22 is guilty of a serious misdemeanor punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560. In addition, a person subject to the rules of ethics of either legislative chamber may be called before the applicable ethics committee and could be censured, reprimanded, suspended, dismissed, or expelled from the person’s position or otherwise sanctioned.