Florida Administrative Code › 34 - COMMISSION ON ETHICS › 34 - Departmental › Chapter 34-13 - GIFTS AND HONORARIA › Section 34-13.310 - Prohibitions Against Accepting and Giving Gifts

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) A reporting
				individual or procurement employee, or any other person on the individual's or
				employee's behalf, is prohibited from knowingly accepting, directly or
				indirectly, a gift from a lobbyist who lobbies the individual's or employee's
				agency, or directly or indirectly on behalf of the partner, firm, employer, or
				principal of such a lobbyist, or from a vendor doing business with the
				individual's or employee's agency, if he knows or reasonably believes that the
				gift has a value in excess of $100.
(2) A vendor; a lobbyist who lobbies a
				reporting individual's or procurement employee's agency; the partner, firm,
				employer, or principal of a lobbyist; or another on behalf of the lobbyist or
				partner, firm, principal, or employer of the lobbyist or vendor is prohibited
				from giving, either directly or indirectly, a gift that has a value in excess
				of $100 to the reporting individual or procurement employee or any other person
				on his behalf.
(3) A reporting
				individual, or his or her parent, spouse, child, or sibling, is prohibited from
				soliciting or knowingly accepting, directly or indirectly, anything of value
				that is not primarily related to contributions, expenditures, or other
				political activities authorized pursuant to Chapter 106, F.S., from a political
				committee.
(4) A political
				committee is prohibited from giving anything of value that is not primarily
				related to contributions, expenditures, or other political activities
				authorized pursuant to Chapter 106, F.S., to a reporting individual or
				procurement employee, or his or her parent, spouse, child, or
				sibling.
(5) The prohibitions
				expressed in this rule apply as of the time the gift is given by the
				donor.
(6) Reasonable inquiry shall
				be made by the reporting individual or procurement employee of the source of
				the proposed gift to determine whether it is prohibited.
(7) Where a gift is to be provided by
				multiple donors, the value of the gift provided by any one donor is equal to
				the portion of the gift's value attributable to that donor based upon the
				donor's contribution to the gift. The value of the portion provided by any
				lobbyist, partner, firm, employer or principal of a lobbyist, or vendor cannot
				exceed $100, and the reporting individual or procurement employee cannot accept
				the gift if the value of that portion of the gift exceeds $100.
(8) Indirect Gifts.
(a) Where a gift is provided to a person
				other than the reporting individual or procurement employee by a political
				committee or vendor, by a lobbyist who lobbies the agency of the reporting
				individual or procurement employee, or by the partner, firm, employer, or
				principal of a lobbyist, where the gift or the benefit of the gift ultimately
				is received by the reporting individual or procurement employee, and where the
				gift is provided with the intent to benefit the reporting individual or
				procurement employee, such gift will be considered an indirect gift to the
				reporting individual or procurement employee.
(b) Where a gift or the benefit of a gift is
				provided to a reporting individual or procurement employee by someone other
				than a political committee, a lobbyist, or the partner, firm, employer, or
				principal of a lobbyist, or a vendor, but the gift or the expense of the gift
				has been provided by or paid for by a political committee, a vendor, or a
				lobbyist, or the partner, firm, employer, or principal of a lobbyist, who
				intends thereby to benefit the reporting individual or employee, such gift will
				be considered an indirect gift to the reporting individual or procurement
				employee.
(c) Factors which the
				Commission will consider in determining whether an indirect gift has been made
				include but are not limited to:
1. The
				existence or nonexistence of communications by the donor indicating the donor's
				intent to make or convey the gift to the reporting individual or procurement
				employee rather than to the intervening third person;
2. The existence or nonexistence of any
				relationship between the donor and the third person, independent of the
				relationship between the donor and the reporting individual or procurement
				employee, that would motivate a gift to the third person;
3. The existence or nonexistence of any
				relationship between the third person and the reporting individual or
				procurement employee that would motivate the gift.
4. Whether the same or similar gifts have
				been or are being provided to other persons having the same relationship to the
				donor as the third person;
5.
				Whether, under the circumstances, the third person had full and independent
				decision-making authority to determine whether the reporting individual or
				procurement employee, or another, would receive the gift;
6. Whether the third person was acting with
				the knowledge or consent of, or under the direction of, the donor;
7. Whether there were or were intended any
				payments or bookkeeping transactions between the third person and the donor,
				reimbursing the third person for the gift; and
8. The degree of ownership or control the
				donor has over the third person.
(d) The provisions of this subsection may be
				illustrated by the following examples:
Example 1: A law firm which lobbies the agency of Reporting
				  Individual C ("C") invites all of its attorneys to attend a weekend retreat.
				  The attorneys are encouraged to bring their spouses or significant others at
				  the firm's expense. C is married to an attorney in the firm and has been asked
				  by her spouse to attend the retreat. The lodging provided to C for the retreat
				  would be considered a gift to C from her spouse and thus not prohibited,
				  because the firm's invitation was extended to C's spouse by virtue of his
				  employment with the firm.
Example 2: Reporting Individual D ("D") hosts a fox hunt
				  attended by other reporting individuals. Lobbyists who lobby the agency of D
				  give money to a third person, who is not a reporting individual, to pay for the
				  food and beverages which will be served at the fox hunt. D orders and prepares
				  the food and beverages. The money provided to the third person by the lobbyists
				  would be a gift to D, because it was given with the intent of benefiting D and
				  his guests at the fox hunt.
Example 3: A principal which employs 10 lobbyists who lobby
				  the agency of Reporting Individual M ("M") channels a gift costing $1, 000 to M
				  through its 10 lobbyists. Although each lobbyist's share of the gift is $100,
				  the gift would be prohibited because it is an indirect gift from the principal
				  with a value of excess of $100.
Example 4: Reporting Individual N ("N") and N's spouse have
				  arranged to take a vacation trip together. A lobbyist who lobbies N's agency
				  meets with the spouse and offers to pay for the spouse's travel expenses, which
				  would exceed $100. The lobbyist and N's spouse know each other only through the
				  lobbyist's involvement with N. This would constitute an indirect gift to N, and
				  would be prohibited because its value exceeds
				  $100.