Ho Ho Hope you know the reporting rules on holiday gifts and parties! If not, here is a quick refresher to keep you off the naughty list this year:
- The maximum you are allowed to pay for a gift to a member of the legislature or staff without
 having to detail report is $50.00. You may split the cost of a gift that is more than that and - as long as your portion is less than $50 - you don’t have to detail report, but you need to make sure you report your portion. And…DO NOT split with a non-registrant. Also note that because gifts of cash are illegal, make sure if you give a gift certificate that the certificate cannot be exchanged for cash. This includes a situation where the legislator uses a portion of the certificate and the balance is paid in cash. (Also see below for the requirements for giving a gift card that includes food/beverages so that presence is not required.)
- If you give a gift of food or beverage, it may be considered a gift and not food/beverage, which means the presence requirement does not apply if you meet the following qualifications:
- (1) it has a value of $50 or less and,
- (2) it is delivered by first-class United States mail or by common or contact carrier and,
- (3) it is delivered outside the Capitol complex.
So don't worry, if you send a legislator a Christmas ham the right way, you won't need to spend Christmas dinner with him or her. But note you have to meet these same 3 requirements if you want to send a gift card for food/beverages and not be present for every cup of coffee they buy with the gift card.
- If your company has a holiday party and members of the legislature or staff attend you must report the total cost of the benefit to them. A good way to determine the per person cost is to divide the total cost of the food and beverage as well as other expenses associated with the event (see EAO 119) by the number of people in attendance. (You don’t have to include the tax or the tip.) If the per person cost is over $100.80 then you must detail report. Note that at the December 2 Commission meeting they did not change the legislative per diem for 2010 so the detailed reporting threshold (which is tied to the per diem) will not change.
- If you take a member of the legislature hunting or to some other event, there are several things to remember:
- Make sure you report the legislator's portion of the activity;
- If the official/employee wants to reimburse you, the reimbursement must be for the full amount of his/her portion of the expenditure, must not be $200 or more, and must be made before your next reporting date.
- Do not provide transportation or lodging unless you receive pre-payment in full using the reimbursement guidelines outlined above, or in the case of transportation, if it is incidental (which is defined by Commission rule 34.13 as “transportation of incidental value such as transportation in the form of a ride of short duration in a personal car or taxi”).
- But remember, you still have to figure out the cost of that incidental transportation and report it.
Let us know if you have any questions about these tips or anything else.
We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season!
Your Friends at PAAT
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