(a) Except as permitted by Subsection (b) or by Commission regulation, a public employee must not solicit any gift to the employee or for another person from a restricted donor or another public employee. In addition, a public employee must not solicit a gift from any person to the employee or another person:
(1) during official work hours, or at a County agency;
(2) while wearing all or part of an official uniform of a County agency, or while otherwise identifiable as a public employee; or
(3) with the intent of affecting or offering to affect any action by a County agency.
(b) A public employee may solicit a gift:
(1) from a public employee for a charitable drive that is approved by the County Executive or (for public employees of the legislative branch) the President of the Council, when the solicitation is part of the public employee’s official duties;
(2) from any person to a charitable organization, as defined in the state law regulating public charities, or a municipality, if the public employee does not solicit gifts primarily from a restricted donor or from other employees who are supervised directly or indirectly by the public employee;
(3) from any person, during official work hours, while identifiable as a public employee, or at a County agency, for the benefit of a County agency or a nonprofit organization formally cooperating on a program with a County agency if the solicitation is authorized by the County Executive or (for public employees of the legislative branch) the President of the Council in an order printed in the County Register that designates:
(A) the public employee authorized to solicit the gift;
(B) the purpose for which the gift is sought;
(C) the manner in which the gift may be solicited;
(D) the persons or class of persons from whom gifts may be solicited; and
(E) the type of gifts that may be solicited;
(4) while wearing all or part of a uniform of the corporation, to a nonprofit fire or rescue corporation of which the public employee is a member; or
(5) from any person to a charitable organization, as defined in the state law regulating public charities, while identifiable as an elected official, if the employee lists in a supplement to each annual financial disclosure statement each organization to which the employee solicited a contribution during that year.
(c) A public employee must not knowingly accept a direct or indirect gift from a restricted donor.
(d) Subsection (c) does not apply to:
(1) meals and beverages consumed in the presence of the restricted donor or sponsoring entity at a function attended by at least 20 persons or, if fewer than 20 persons attend, meals and beverages consumed in the presence of the restricted donor or sponsoring entity which do not exceed $50 in value from the same source in any calendar year;
(2) ceremonial gifts or awards that have insignificant monetary value;
(3) unsolicited gifts, except for cash or cash equivalents, that do not exceed $20 in cost;
(4) reasonable expenses for food, travel, lodging, and scheduled entertainment of the public employee, given in return for the public employee's participation in a panel or speaking at a meeting;
(5) a gift to an elected official, if the gift:
(A) is a courtesy extended to the office;
(B) consists of tickets or free admission for the elected official and one guest to attend a charitable, cultural, civic, labor trade, or political event attended by at least 20 participants, including meals and beverages served at the event; and
(C) is provided by the person sponsoring the event.
(6) any item that is solely informational or of an advertising nature, including a book, report, periodical, or pamphlet, if the resale value of the item is $20 or less;
(7) gifts from a relative;
(8) honoraria for speaking to or participating in a meeting if the offering of the honorarium is not related to the employee’s official position and is unsolicited; or
(9) a specific gift or class of gifts which the Commission exempts from this Section after finding in writing that accepting the gift or class of gifts is not detrimental to the impartial conduct of the business of a County agency.
(e) Subsection (c) does not apply to unsolicited gifts to a County agency.
(f) A public employee who receives a gift that the public employee must not accept under this Section must report the gift to the Commission, if otherwise required to report it, and return the gift to the donor or transfer the gift to the County. If the unacceptable gift is a perishable item, the employee, instead of transferring the gift to the County, may transfer it to a charitable or educational organization that can make timely and effective use of the gift, so long as the employee is not an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee of the receiving organization. (1990 L.M.C., ch. 21, § 1; 1994 L.M.C., ch. 25, § 1; 1997 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1; 2010 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 38, § 1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated 12/6/02 discussing whether a public employee may accept an honorarium or other reimbursement of expenses in return for a speech or presentation. See County Attorney Opinion dated 7/8/02 describing the extent to which quasi-judicial officials may engage in political activities. See County Attorney Opinion dated 12/14/98 addressing the creation of “Friends of Recreation” for revenue-raising activities.