Bill Text: NC H640 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Reporting of Gifts
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-10 - Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House [H640 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2013-H640-Amended.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2013
H 1
HOUSE BILL 640
Short Title: Reporting of Gifts. |
(Public) |
|
Sponsors: |
Representative R. Brawley (Primary Sponsor). For a complete list of Sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly Web Site. |
|
Referred to: |
Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House. |
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April 10, 2013
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require reporting of all gifts given by lobbyists and lobbyist principals to legislators, legislative employees, and public servants.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 138A‑32 reads as rewritten:
"§ 138A‑32. Gifts.
(a) A covered person or a legislative employee shall not knowingly, directly or indirectly, ask, accept, demand, exact, solicit, seek, assign, receive, or agree to receive anything of value for the covered person or legislative employee, or for another person, in return for being influenced in the discharge of the covered person's or legislative employee's official responsibilities, other than that which is received by the covered person or the legislative employee from the State for acting in the covered person's or legislative employee's official capacity.
(b) A covered person may not solicit for a charitable purpose any thing of monetary value from any subordinate State employee. This subsection shall not apply to generic written solicitations to all members of a class of subordinates. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a covered person from serving as the honorary head of the State Employees Combined Campaign.
(c) No A public servant, legislator, or
legislative employee shall knowinglymay accept a gift from a
lobbyist or lobbyist principal registered under Chapter 120C of the General
Statutes. No A legislator or legislative employee shall
knowinglymay accept a gift from liaison personnel designated under
Chapter 120C of the General Statutes. No public servant, legislator, or
legislative employee shall accept a gift knowing all of the following:
(1) The gift was obtained indirectly from a
lobbyist, lobbyist principal, or liaison personnel registered under Chapter
120C of the General Statutes.
(2) The lobbyist, lobbyist principal, or
liaison personnel registered under Chapter 120C of the General Statutes
intended for an ultimate recipient of the gift to be a public servant,
legislator, or legislative employee as provided in G.S. 120C‑303.
(d) No public servant shall knowingly accept
a gift from a person whom the public servant knows or has reason to know any of
the following:
(1) Is doing or is seeking to do business of
any kind with the public servant's employing entity.
(2) Is engaged in activities that are
regulated or controlled by the public servant's employing entity.
(3) Has financial interests that may be
substantially and materially affected, in a manner distinguishable from the
public generally, by the performance or nonperformance of the public servant's
official duties.
(d1) No public servant shall accept a
gift knowing all of the following:
(1) The gift was obtained indirectly from a
person described under subdivision (d)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.
(2) The person described under subdivision
(d)(1), (2), or (3) of this section intended for an ultimate recipient of the
gift to be a public servant.
(e) Subsections (c), (d), and (d1) of
this section shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) Food and beverages for immediate
consumption in connection with any of the following:
a. An open meeting of a public body,
provided that the open meeting is properly noticed under Article 33C of Chapter
143 of the General Statutes.
b. A gathering of a person or governmental
unit with at least 10 or more individuals in attendance open to the general
public, provided that a sign or other communication containing a message that
is reasonably designed to convey to the general public that the gathering is
open to the general public is displayed at the gathering.
c. A gathering of a person or governmental
unit to which the entire board of which a public servant is a member, at least
10 public servants, all the members of the House of Representatives, all the
members of the Senate, all the members of a county or municipal legislative
delegation, all the members of a recognized legislative caucus with regular
meetings other than meetings with one or more lobbyists, all the members of a
committee, a standing subcommittee, a joint committee or joint commission of
the House of Representatives, the Senate, or the General Assembly, or all
legislative employees are invited, and one of the following applies:
1. At least 10 individuals associated with
the person or governmental unit actually attend, other than the covered person
or legislative employee, or the immediate family of the covered person or
legislative employee.
2. All shareholders, employees, board
members, officers, members, or subscribers of the person or governmental unit
located in North Carolina are notified and invited to attend.
For purposes of this sub‑subdivision
only, the term "invited" shall mean written notice from at least one
host or sponsor of the gathering containing the date, time, and location of the
gathering given at least 24 hours in advance of the gathering to the specific
qualifying group listed in this sub‑subdivision. If it is known at the
time of the written notice that at least one sponsor is a lobbyist or lobbyist
principal, the written notice shall also state whether or not the gathering is
permitted under this section.
(2) Informational materials relevant to the
duties of the covered person or legislative employee.
(3) Reasonable actual expenditures of the
legislator, public servant, or legislative employee for food, beverages,
registration, travel, lodging, other incidental items of nominal value, and
entertainment, in connection with (i) a legislator's, public servant's, or
legislative employee's attendance at an educational meeting for purposes
primarily related to the public duties and responsibilities of the legislator,
public servant, or legislative employee; (ii) a legislator's, public servant's,
or legislative employee's participation as a speaker or member of a panel at a
meeting; (iii) a legislator's or legislative employee's attendance and
participation in meetings of a nonpartisan state, regional, national, or
international legislative organization of which the General Assembly is a
member or that the legislator or legislative employee is a member or participant
of by virtue of that legislator's or legislative employee's public position, or
as a member of a board, agency, or committee of such organization; or (iv) a
public servant's attendance and participation in meetings as a member of a
board, agency, or committee of a nonpartisan state, regional, national, or
international organization of which the public servant's agency is a member or
the public servant is a member by virtue of that public servant's public
position, provided the following conditions are met:
a. The reasonable actual expenditures shall
be made by a lobbyist principal, and not a lobbyist.
b. Any meeting must be attended by at least
10 or more participants, have a formal agenda, and notice of the meeting has
been given at least 10 days in advance.
c. Any food, beverages, transportation, or
entertainment must be provided to all attendees or defined groups of 10 or more
attendees as part of the meeting or in conjunction with the meeting.
d. Any entertainment must be incidental to
the principal agenda of the meeting.
e. If the legislator, public servant, or
legislative employee is participating as a speaker or member of a panel, then
that legislator, public servant, or legislative employee must be a bona fide
speaker or participant.
(4) A plaque or similar nonmonetary memento
recognizing individual services in a field or specialty or to a charitable
cause.
(5) Gifts accepted on behalf of the State for
use by the State or for the benefit of the State.
(6) Anything generally made available or distributed
to the general public or all other State employees by lobbyists or lobbyist
principals, or persons described in subdivisions (d)(1), (2), or (3) of this
section.
(7) Gifts from the covered person's or
legislative employee's extended family, or a member of the same household of
the covered person or legislative employee.
(8) Gifts given to a public servant not
otherwise subject to an exception under this subsection, where the gift is food
and beverages, transportation, lodging, entertainment or related expenses
associated with the public business of industry recruitment, promotion of
international trade, or the promotion of travel and tourism, and the public
servant is responsible for conducting the business on behalf of the State,
provided all the following conditions apply:
a. The public servant did not solicit the
gift, and the public servant did not accept the gift in exchange for the
performance of the public servant's official duties.
b. The public servant reports electronically
to the Commission within 30 days of receipt of the gift or of the date set for
disclosure of public records under G.S. 132‑6(d), if applicable. The
report shall include a description and value of the gift and a description how
the gift contributed to the public business of industry recruitment, promotion
of international trade, or the promotion of travel and tourism. This report
shall be posted to the Commission's public Web site.
c. A tangible gift, other than food or
beverages, not otherwise subject to an exception under this subsection shall be
turned over as State property to the Department of Commerce within 30 days of
receipt, except as permitted under subsection (f) of this section.
(9) Gifts of personal property valued at less
than one hundred dollars ($100.00) given to a public servant in the commission
of the public servant's official duties if the gift is given to the public
servant as a personal gift in another country as part of an overseas trade
mission, and the giving and receiving of such personal gifts is considered a
customary protocol in the other country.
(10) Gifts given or received as part of a
business, civic, religious, fraternal, personal, or commercial relationship
provided all of the following conditions are met:
a. The relationship is not related to the
public servant's, legislator's, or legislative employee's public service or
position.
b. The gift is made under circumstances that
a reasonable person would conclude that the gift was not given to lobby.
(11) Food and beverages for immediate consumption
and related transportation provided all of the following conditions are met:
a. The food, beverage, or transportation is
given by a lobbyist principal and not a lobbyist.
b. The food, beverage, or transportation is
provided during a conference, meeting, or similar event and is available to all
attendees of the same class as the recipient.
c. The recipient of the food, beverage, or
transportation is a director, officer, governing board member, employee, or
independent contractor of one of the following:
1. The lobbyist principal giving the food,
beverage, or transportation.
2. A third party that received the funds to
purchase the food, beverages, or transportation.
(12) Food and beverages for immediate
consumption at an organized gathering of a person, the State, or a governmental
unit to which a public servant is invited to attend for purposes primarily
related to the public servant's public service or position, and to which at
least 10 individuals, other than the public servant, or the public servant's immediate
family, actually attend, or to which all shareholders, employees, board
members, officers, members, or subscribers of the person or governmental unit
who are located in a specific North Carolina office or county are notified and
invited to attend.
(f) A prohibited gift that would constitute
an expense appropriate for reimbursement by the public servant's employing
entity if it had been incurred by the public servant personally shall be
considered a gift accepted by or donated to the State, provided the public
servant has been approved by the public servant's employing entity to accept or
receive such things of value on behalf of the State. The fact that the
employing entity's reimbursement rate for the type of expense is less than the
value of a particular gift shall not render the gift prohibited.
(g) A prohibited gift shall be, and a
permissible gift may be, promptly declined, returned, paid for at fair market
value, or donated to charity or the State.
(h) A covered person or legislative employee shall not accept an honorarium from a source other than the employing entity for conducting any activity where any of the following apply:
(1) The employing entity reimburses the covered person or legislative employee for travel, subsistence, and registration expenses.
(2) The employing entity's work time or resources are used.
(3) The activity would be considered official duty or would bear a reasonably close relationship to the covered person's or legislative employee's official duties.
An outside source may reimburse the employing entity for actual
expenses incurred by a covered person or legislative employee in conducting an
activity within the duties of the covered person or legislative employee, or
may pay a fee to the employing entity, in lieu of an honorarium, for the
services of the covered person or legislative employee. An honorarium
permissible under this subsection shall not be considered a gift for purposes
of subsection (c) of this section.
(i) Acceptance or solicitation of a gift in compliance with this section without corrupt intent shall not constitute a violation of the statutes related to bribery under G.S. 14‑217, 14‑218, or 120‑86."
SECTION 2. G.S. 120C‑303 reads as rewritten:
"§ 120C‑303. Gifts by lobbyists and lobbyist principals prohibited.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of
this section, no lobbyist or lobbyist principal may do any of the following:
(1) Knowingly give a gift to a designated
individual.
(2) Knowingly give a gift with the intent
that a designated individual be an ultimate recipient.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section shall not
apply to gifts as described in G.S. 138A‑32(e).
(c) The offering or giving of a gift in compliance with this Chapter without corrupt intent shall not constitute a violation of the statutes related to bribery under G.S. 14‑217, 14‑218, or 120‑86, but shall be subject to civil fines under G.S. 120C‑602(b).
(d) Gifts made to a nonpartisan state,
regional, national, or international legislative organization of which the
General Assembly is a member or a legislator or legislative employee is a
member or participant of by virtue of that legislator's or legislative employee's
public position, or to an affiliated organization of that nonpartisan state,
regional, national, or international organization, shall not constitute a
violation of subdivision (a)(2) of this section or of G.S. 138A‑32(c).
(e) Gifts made to a nonpartisan state,
regional, national, or international organization of which a public servant's
agency is a member or a public servant is a member or participant of by virtue
of that public servant's public position, or to an affiliated organization of
that nonpartisan state, regional, national, or international organization,
shall not constitute a violation of subdivision (a)(2) of this section or of G.S. 138A‑32(c)."
SECTION 3. G.S. 120C‑401(j) reads as rewritten:
"(j) The Secretary of State shall make available a
report form that may be filed by a designated individual or a member of the
designated individual's immediate family who promptly declines, returns, pays
fair market value for, or donates a reportable expenditure in accordance
with G.S. 138A‑32(g).expenditure not retained by the
designated individual or member of the designated individual's immediate
family. The Secretary of State shall index the filing of this form together
with the lobbyist or lobbyist principal who gave the reportable expenditure."
SECTION 4. G.S. 120C‑402(b)(4) reads as rewritten:
"(4) All reportable expenditures for gifts given
under G.S. 138A‑32(e)(1)‑(9), 138A‑32(e)(11), 138A‑32(e)(12),
and all gifts given under G.S. 138A‑32(e)(10) with a value of more
than ten dollars ($10.00).gifts."
SECTION 5. G.S. 120C‑403(b)(5) reads as rewritten:
"(5) All reportable expenditures for gifts given
under G.S. 138A‑32(e)(1)‑(9), 138A‑32(e)(11), 138A‑32(e)(12),
and all gifts given under G.S. 138A‑32(e)(10) with a value of more
than two hundred dollars ($200.00).gifts."
SECTION 6. G.S. 126‑14(a1) reads as rewritten:
"(a1) It is unlawful for an individual as defined in
G.S. 138A‑3(30)a. to coerce a person as described in G.S. 138A‑32(d)(1),
(2), or (3) any of the following persons to support or contribute to
a political candidate, a political committee as defined in G.S. 163‑278.6,
or a political party by threatening discipline or promising preferential
treatment with regard to that person's business with the individual's State
office or that person's activities regulated by the individual's State office.office:
(1) A person that is doing or is seeking to do business of any kind with the public servant's employing entity.
(2) A person that is engaged in activities that are regulated or controlled by the public servant's employing entity.
(3) A person that has financial interests that may be substantially and materially affected, in a manner distinguishable from the public generally, by the performance or nonperformance of the public servant's official duties."
SECTION 7. G.S. 120C‑602(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b) In addition to the criminal penalties set forth in this section, the Secretary of State may levy civil fines for a violation of any provision of Articles 2, 4, or 8 of this Chapter up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation. In addition to the criminal penalties set forth in this section, the Secretary of State may levy civil fines for a violation of failing to report a reportable expenditure under any provision of Article 4 of this Chapter up to three times the amount of the reportable expenditure. In addition to the criminal penalties set forth in this section, the Commission may levy civil fines for a violation of any provision of this Chapter except Article 2, 4, or 8 of this Chapter up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation."
SECTION 8. This act becomes effective December 1, 2013, and applies to actions on or after that date.