Purpose and Reason:
There are two proposed amendments to the Code of Ethics' gift rule at 520-RICR-00-00-1.4.2. Each proposed amendment is independent of the other.
A. As to Gift Limits: The Code of Ethics’ gift rule has, since 2005, prohibited gifts from interested persons to public officials that are valued in excess of $25 per gift or $75 in aggregate from the same source. This proposed amendment to subsection (B) of 520-RICR-00-00-1.4.2 raises those limits to $50 per gift or $150 in aggregate to acknowledge increases in inflation over the last twenty years and moving forward.
B. As to Definition of “Interested Person” to include Lobbyists: The gift rule prohibits public officials from accepting expensive gifts from an “interested person,” which is defined to mean a person or entity with a direct financial interest in decisions made by the public official. While this definition has historically been understood to include gifts from lobbyists to the public officials they lobby, lobbyists for not-for-profit entities may not fit neatly into this definition. This amendment to subsections (C) and (D) of 520-RICR-00-00-1.4.2 seeks to expressly prohibit expensive gifts from all lobbyists to the public officials they are lobbying.
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