No state officer or state employee shall accept any gift for himself or herself or his or her family member from any vendor or vendor’s agent at any time the vendor is doing business with the state officer or state employee’s agency through a contract involving property or services, subject to the following exceptions:
1. A state officer or employee may accept meals having an aggregate market value of Twenty Dollars ($20.00) or less per occasion, provided that the aggregate market value of individual gifts received from any individual or other entity does not exceed Fifty Dollars ($50.00) during any calendar year. Where the market value of a meal exceeds Twenty Dollars ($20.00) on a single occasion, the state officer or employee may not pay the excess value over Twenty Dollars ($20.00) in order to accept that portion of the gift worth Twenty Dollars ($20.00). The value of a meal shall include its price, plus any applicable tax but shall not include a gratuity.
2. A state officer or employee may accept a gift given under circumstances that make it clear that the gift is motivated by a family relationship or a personal relationship rather than the state officer or employee’s status as a state officer or employee. Relevant factors in making such a determination include, but are not limited to, the history and nature of the relationship and whether the family member or friend personally pays for the gift.
3. A state officer or employee may accept a gift given to all state employees or to all employees of his or her agency provided the gifts are customary within the industry and the costs of the gifts do not significantly exceed amounts that are customary within the industry.
4. A state officer or employee may accept a book, written materials, audio tapes, videotapes and other informational or promotional material related to the performance of the state officer or employee’s official duties.
5. A state officer or employee may accept opportunities and benefits available to the public generally and on the same terms available to the public.
Promulgated by Ethics Commission January 10, 2014; effective upon Legislature’s sine die adjournment May 23, 2014; operative January 1, 2015.