New Rules for Office Holder Gift Giving
New public official ethics rules go into effect today! On August 23, 2006, a new Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) gift regulation goes into effect.
Title 2, Division 6, Section 18944 states that “a single gift given to both a public official and candidate (hereinafter “official”) and one or more members of the official’s immediate family is a gift to the official for the full value of the gift.” While somewhat ambiguous, the rules also attempt to state that a gift is not a gift, unless it confers “personal benefit” on a recipient or a member of his/her family. Factors for consideration of when a gift is a gift include whether there is an existing working or social relationship between the official and gift-giver.
Comment: It appears that the FPPC is attempting to address complaints voiced by some public officials that the FPPC regulations on gifts were restricting or subjecting to scrutiny certain presents or tokens of respect to spouses/dependent children that clearly were not attempts to curry favor with the public official or improperly influence the political process (e.g., monthly flower or plant exchanges between fellow members of a gardening club that the spouse has participated in for years).
