RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS REGARDING MEALS

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I®]®W BEST BEST & KRIEGER ATTORNEYS AT LAW Memorandum To: PUBLIC AGENCY CLIENTS From: BEST BEST & KRIEGER LLP Date: MAY 5, 2014 Re: RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS REGARDING MEALS Overview Public officials' regularly attend luncheons, dinners, and other events where "free" food is served. A maze of rules govern if, when, and how to value these meals. Under the Political Reform Act3 ("Act"), a "free" meal is sometimes considered a reportable gift and can be subject to the annual gift limit.4 Additional rules also limit when an agency can pay for the meals of others using public funds. For Code Filers, it is critically important that they review their agency's Conflict of Interest Code to determine their specific disclosure obligations. Some Code Filers have a much more limited disclosure obligation than 87200 Filers and may not have to report a particular meal. The purpose of these rules is to prevent the wining and dining of public officials by third party donors in an effort to solicit favors. At the most extreme, gifts demanded in exchange for official action by public officials violate state and federal laws prohibiting bribery, extortion and graft. Additional rules also seek to limit the "perks" enjoyed by public officials reflecting the Act's higher ethical standards applied to a public official compared to the ordinary citizen. Overall, the rules set the minimum legal standards for public service ethics. \ Government Code section 82048(a) defines a "Public Official" as "every member, officer, employee or consultant of a state or local government agency." Some Public Officials are identified in Government Code section 87200 or are members of Boards and Commissions of newly created agencies and as such have full disclosure obligations. These Public Officials are known as 87200 Filers. Whereas, all other Public Officials must review their agency's Conflict of Interest Code in order to determine their specific disclosure requirements. This later group is referred to as Code Filers. z Under the Political Reform Act, "food" is defined to include both food and drink. In this memorandum, we shall use the word "meals" interchangeably with the defined term of "food." s The Political Reform Act is contained in Government Code sections 81000 through 91014. All statutory references are to the Act, unless otherwise indicated, The regulations of the Fair Political Practices Commission ("FPPC") are contained in California Code of Regulations, title 2, division 6, sections 18100 through 18997. All regulatory references are to the FPPC Regulations, unless otherwise indicated. ° The Act sets annual limits on the value of gifts a public official may accept from a single source during a calendar year. The gift limit is modified every two years to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. The current 2014 limit is $440 from a single source. (§ 89503; Reg. 18940.2.) 09879, 00000\8634 t33.4