Brief ⁽¹⁾

Senate Sub. for HB 2161 amends the state ethics laws governing state officers and employees and lobbyists.

Current law prohibits legislators, legislators-elect, candidates for the Legislature, and legislative employees from accepting gifts more than $40, entertainment more than $40, and recreation more than $100. The substitute bill prohibits these individuals from accepting gifts in excess of $5 and retains the current limitations on entertainment and recreation. The acceptance of food and beverage would remain unlimited.

The same prohibitions would apply to persons with a special interest from giving gifts and entertainment to the above individuals.

The substitute bill allows legislators to receive publications from trade associations, professional associations, foundations, or tax exempt organizations. These items are currently considered gifts, and are therefore unacceptable if they have a value of $40 or more.

The substitute bill defines hospitality as recreation and food and beverage provided to the above individuals in the company of the donor or the donor's authorized agent. Entertainment is defined as recreation and food and beverage given to the above entities when not accompanied by the donor or the donor's authorized agent.

Current law prohibits officers and employees of the Executive Branch from accepting gifts and meals, regardless of value, with limited exceptions. The substitute bill would allow them to accept gifts with a value of less than $5 and meals provided at an event where they are a speaker, presenter, or panelist.

The bill adds the following new exemptions to the itemized reporting required by lobbyists for expenditures by their clients:

• •gifts of $5 or less; and
• •food and beverage of $15 or less per person per event.
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An event is defined as a meeting, meal, reception, party, sporting, civic, or cultural activity.

The value of food and beverage requiring itemization under lobbyist's disclosure requirements would be tied to the Consumer Price Index effective July 1, 2002.

Lobbyists would be required to file a separate summary report per reporting period and each report would have to include:

• •The name of the legislator, legislator-elect, member of the Judicial Branch, or employee accepting food and beverage of $15 or more, regardless of the number of clients who paid for such food and beverage, and which is provided at a single event.
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• •The total amount spent including the portion of the tax and gratuity spent on each individual.
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• •The date the food and beverage was provided.
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• •The pro rata itemization of how much each lobbyist's client spent and on whose behalf the expenditure was made.
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The substitute bill would allow lobbyists to provide publications by their organizations regardless of cost.

Background

The Senate Committee on Elections and Local Government substituted the above described ethics provisions into HB 2161.

HB 2161 would have amended a county bidding and surety bond statute dealing with construction contracts for county buildings and bridges, to require competitive bids on any bridge project. Current law only requires bids on bridge projects in excess of $10,000. The bill also would have amended the surety bond requirements for bid winners to require such bonds on any bridge project and for building project contracts valued in excess of $40,000. Current law requires a surety bond for building and bridge projects valued over $10,000.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext.cgi