Ask the Expert – Gift Laws: What you Need to Know

Q: My company is a registered lobbyist employer in California. We are sponsoring an invitation-only reception and want to invite state officials. Are there any gift laws or other requirements we need to worry about?

A: The California gift laws allow lobbyist employers to provide gifts to an official with an aggregate total value of $630 or less each year. The gift would be reportable as an activity expense on your quarterly lobbyist employer report. Lobbyist employers must also comply with notification rules when an official receives a gift aggregating $50 or more in a calendar year.

Where notifications are required, lobbying entities must include a notice in all written or printed invitations to events at which an official will receive a reportable gift. The notice must state attendance at the event by a public official will constitute acceptance of a reportable gift. The lobbying entity must also send the official a written notice of the gift’s value after the event. The notice must be sent to an official who received a gift within 30 days following the end of the calendar quarter in which the gift was provided.

For valuation purposes, the amount of the gift to each official is the official’s pro rata share of the total cost of the food, catering services, and entertainment, plus any item provided at the event. Only those officials who attended the event should be disclosed. To determine which officials to include on the lobbyist employer report, it is a good idea to have a sign-in sheet or guest book to track attendance. Immediate family members of officials must also be disclosed if the family member attended the event.

For more information, please visit the California lobbying entry in our guidebooks. Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions. Not a guidebook subscriber yet? Request your free demo today and keep up with all lobbying, procurement lobbying, and campaign finance compliance.