(A) Gift ban. Except as permitted by this subchapter, no officer or employee, and no spouse of or immediate family member living with any officer or employee (collectively referred to herein as “recipients”), shall intentionally solicit or accept any gift from any prohibited source, as defined herein, or which is otherwise prohibited by law or ordinance. No prohibited source shall intentionally offer or make a gift that violates this section.
(B) Exceptions. Division (A) above is not applicable to the following. Each of the exceptions listed in this section is mutually exclusive and independent of every other:
(1) Opportunities, benefits and services that are available on the same conditions as for the general public;
(2) Anything for which the officer or employee, or his or her spouse or immediate family member, pays the fair market value;
(3) Any:
(a) Contribution that is lawfully made under the Election Code; or
(b) Activities associated with a fundraising event in support of a political organization or candidate.
(4) Educational materials and missions;
(5) Travel expenses for a meeting to discuss business;
(6) A gift from a relative, meaning those people related to the individual as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, great aunt, great uncle, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, and including the father, mother, grandfather, or grandmother of the individual’s spouse and the individual’s fiancé or fiancée;
(7) (a) Anything provided by an individual on the basis of a personal friendship unless the recipient has reason to believe that, under the circumstances, the gift was provided because of the official position or employment of the recipient or his or her spouse or immediate family member and not because of the personal friendship.
(b) In determining whether a gift is provided on the basis of personal friendship, the recipient shall consider the circumstances under which the gift was offered, such as:
1. The history of the relationship between the individual giving the gift and the recipient of the gift, including any previous exchange of gifts between those individuals;
2. Whether to the actual knowledge of the recipient, the individual who gave the gift personally paid for the gift or sought a tax deduction or business reimbursement for the gift; and
3. Whether to the actual knowledge of the recipient, the individual who gave the gift also at the same time gave the same or similar gifts to other officers or employees, or their spouses or immediate family members.
(8) (a) Food or refreshments not exceeding $75 per person in value on a single calendar day; provided that the food or refreshments are:
1. Consumed on the premises from which they were purchased or prepared; or
2. Catered.
(b) For the purposes of this section, CATERED means food or refreshments that are purchased ready to consume which are delivered by any means.
(9) Food, refreshments, lodging, transportation and other benefits resulting from outside business or employment activities (or outside activities that are not connected to the official duties of an officer or employee), if the benefits have not been offered or enhanced because of the official position or employment of the officer or employee, and are customarily provided to others in similar circumstances;
(10) Intra-governmental and inter-governmental gifts. For the purpose of this subchapter, INTRA-GOVERNMENTAL GIFT means any gift given to an officer or employee from another officer or employee, and INTER-GOVERNMENTAL GIFT means any gift given to an officer or employee by an officer or employee of another governmental entity;
(11) Bequests, inheritances and other transfers at death; and
(12) Any item or items from any one prohibited source during any calendar year having a cumulative total value of less than $100.
(C) Disposition of gifts. An officer or employee, his or her spouse or an immediate family member living with the officer or employee, does not violate this subchapter if the recipient promptly takes reasonable action to return a gift from a prohibited source to its source or gives the gift or an amount equal to its value to an appropriate charity that is exempt from income taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, being 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3), as now or hereafter amended, renumbered or succeeded.
(Ord. passed 11-10-2014) Penalty, see § 33.999