A fact sheet for:

•  Local Elected Officers and Candidates for Local Elective Offices
  
•  Local Officials Specified in Government Code Section 87200
  
•  Judicial Candidates
  
•  Designated Employees of Local Government Agencies

Note: New gift limitation and reporting requirements for gifts received beginning February 10, 2010. Below is an overview of the new regulation.

1. A single gift given to both an official and one or more members of the official’s family is a gift to the official for the full value of the gift.

• “Official’s family” or “family member” includes:
  
  1. an official’s spouse or registered domestic partner;
  2. a “dependent child” (defined as a child (including an adoptive child or stepchild) who is under 18 years of age and whom the public official is entitled to claim as a dependent for federal income tax purposes);
  3. an official’s child (including adoptive child or stepchild) who is: (1) at least 18 but no more than 23 years old and is a full-time student; (2) has the same principal place of residence as the official (note that a place located away from official’s residence at which child resides for purpose of attending school is not the child’s “principal place of residence”); and (3) does not provide over one-half of his or her own support.

2. A gift given solely to a member of an official’s family is a gift to the official when the gift confers a clear personal benefit on the official. 

• A gift to an official’s family member confers a clear personal benefit on the official in any of the following circumstances:
  1. It is reasonably foreseeable at the time the gift is made that the official will enjoy a financial benefit from the gift
     • A “financial benefit” from a gift includes, but is not limited to, a payment, other than occasional meals, lodging, or local transportation, to fulfill a commitment, obligation, or expense of the type normally paid by a family for the ordinary care and support of one of its members
  2. It is reasonably foreseeable at the time the gift is made that the official will use the gift, except for a minimal use.
  3. The official exercises discretion and control over who will use or dispose of the gift. 
     • Exercising “discretion and control” includes, but is not limited to, when an official (or his or her agent) requests a gift for, or to be used by, the official’s family member.

• Exception:
  • There is no gift to an official under #2 if both of the following circumstances apply:
    • The official can show there is an established working, social, or similar relationship between the donor and the official’s family member independent of the relationship between the donor and the official; and
    • The donor:
                     §  is not a lobbyist, lobbying firm, lobbyist employer; or
                     §  is not or has not been directly involved in a governmental decision in which the official will foreseeably participate or has participated in the prior 12-month period.

3. There is an additional provision that applies only to 87200 filers: A gift given solely to a member of an official’s family and not covered under #2 above is still a gift to the official if the gift confers a presumed personal benefit on the official.
   1. A gift to an official’s family confers a presumed personal benefit on the official if the gift is made to a family member of a local government agency official who is subject to Section 87200 by a donor who is or has been directly involved in a governmental decision in which the official will foreseeably participate or has participated in the prior 12-month period.
      Exception: There is no gift to an official under #3 if the official can rebut the presumption of a personal benefit.
      
   2. The official can rebut the presumption if he or she can show there is an established working, social, or similar relationship between the donor and the official’s family member independent of the relationship between the donor and the official.

• Limitations and Restrictions on Gifts, Honoraria, Travel, and Loans