Louisiana lawmakers may lift restrictions on gifts to elected officials, government employees
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Louisiana lawmakers may life restrictions on gifts for elected officials and government employees. (Photo by Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
Louisiana lawmakers are quickly moving legislation that would dramatically expand the types of gifts elected officials and government employees could receive while doing their jobs.
House Bill 674, sponsored by Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, would eliminate a prohibition in state ethics law on public sector employees and elected leaders from receiving gifts in most circumstances.
Instead, government employees would be able to receive any type of gift worth up to $100 per event with an annual cap of $200. They would be able to accept an additional $200 in 'seasonal or holiday food' gifts for a total limit of $400 gifts from an individual or entity annually.
'It seems to me that they have now changed this to allow a $100 gift for any purpose,' ethics board member Alfred 'Butch' Speer said during Friday's board meeting in discussion about the proposed ethics legislation.
Speer was the Louisiana House of Representatives clerk and general counsel for 35 years and appointed to the ethics board by former Gov. John Bel Edwards after he retired . In his former job, he was in charge of helping educate and advise legislators on ethics restrictions, including gift restrictions.
If Beaullieu's bill passes, the higher threshold of gift giving would be open to most public employees, from local health inspectors and motor vehicle office workers to legislators and the governor.
The only public employees with stricter gift restrictions might be K-12 teachers. An existing ban on public school educators receiving a gift over $25 per item from a student, with a maximum of $75 per year, would remain unchanged.
'Does it create a situation where you are going to have a lot more gifts flying around the state? Absolutely,' state Ethics Administrator David Bordelon told ethics board members.
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Beaullieu said in an interview that he was open to changing the gift-giving provision in his bill if requested. It also contains dozens of other ethics law changes unrelated to gifts.
The Louisiana House approved the bill 96-0 Monday, with no questions from representatives before they voted to advance it to the Senate.
Stephen Gelé, a private attorney who works on ethics and campaign finance matters for Gov. Jeff Landry, helped write the legislation. He said the bill was crafted with input from the ethics board staff, civic organizations and public servants who have faced ethics investigations.
The state's current zero tolerance for gift giving is excessive, punishes people who are acting ethically and creates confusion, he said. Criminal statutes exist to deal with people who abuse gift giving for the purpose of bribery and other corruption, according to Gelé.
'Prior absolute prohibitions lead to confusion, waste of public servant time, and therefore waste of taxpayer dollars,' Gelé said in a written statement Friday. 'HB 674 maintains prohibitions on public servants accepting gifts in amounts that would tend to create the appearance of corruption.'
Bordelon agreed there is a lot of confusion among government workers about gift giving. The ethics board staff has fielded calls from librarians, for example, about whether they can accept cookies from patrons for Librarian Appreciation Day. Several public servants have asked whether they are allowed to receive king cakes during Mardi Gras season.
'We get a ton of phone calls about gifts,' Bordelon said.
Yet Beaullieu's bill might nullify other state laws that place restrictions on what food, drinks and promotional materials can be given to elected officials and public employees.
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Public servants are only able to accept the equivalent of $79 worth of food and drink at any single event they attend in person under the current law. The cap will go up to $81 in July because it is tied to the federal Consumer Price Index which has also increased.
If Beaullieu's bill becomes law, the cap would automatically jump to $100 for food and drink at two events per year, or $200 per one event if as long as 'seasonal or holiday food,' is featured, Speer said.
The limitations on state employees and elected officials accepting 'promotional' items, typically from lobbyists and industry groups, to just those that have 'no resale value,' would also be lifted.
For example, business and industry groups that now give state lawmakers hats or plastic cups with their logos on them could possibly give out promotional items worth up to $100 during the legislative session.
Unlike some other spending, lobbyists and interest groups would not be required to publicly report their gifts or the elected officials and public employees who receive them under the bill, Speer said.
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