§ 2-45. Gifts.

(a)

General rule.

(1)

A City official or employee shall not solicit, accept, or agree to accept any gift or benefit for himself or herself or his or her business:

a.

That reasonably tends to influence or reward official conduct; or

b.

That the official or employee knows or should know is being offered with the intent to influence or reward official conduct.

A City official or employee may accept a public award or reward for meritorious service of professional achievement, provided that the award or reward is reasonable in light of the occasion and it is not prohibited under V.T.C.A., Penal Code § 36.08.

(2)

A City official or employee shall not solicit, accept, or agree to accept any gift or benefit, from:

a.

Any individual or entity doing or seeking to do business with the City; or

b.

Any registered lobbyist or public relations firm; or

c.

Any person or entity seeking action or advocating on zoning or platting matters before a City body,

save and except for:

1.

Items received that are of nominal value; or

2.

Meals or entertainment in an individual expense of fifty dollars ($50.00) or less at any occurrence, and no more than a cumulative value of five hundred ($500.00) in a single calendar year from a single source.

Doing business with the City includes, but is not limited to, individuals and entities that are parties to a discretionary contract, individuals and entities that are subcontractors to a discretionary contract, and partners and/or parents and/or subsidiary business entities of any individuals and entities that are parties to a discretionary contract and individuals or entities that seek or have low-bid contracts with the City.

(b)

Special applications. Subsection (a)(2) does not include:

(1)

A gift to a City official or employee relating to a special occasion, such as a wedding, anniversary, graduation, birth, illness, death, or holiday, provided that the value of the gift is fairly commensurate with the occasion and the relationship between the donor and recipient;

(2)

Advancement for or reimbursement of reasonable expenses for travel in connection with official duties authorized in accordance with City policies; such payments must be disclosed in a travel report as required in section 2-76; payment for or reimbursement of expenses for travel in excess of authorized rates under City policy will be treated as a personal gift to the official or employee for any applicable reporting requirements under sections 2-73, 2-74 or 2-78;

(3)

A public award or reward for meritorious service or professional achievement, provided that the award or reward is reasonable in light of the occasion and it is not prohibited under V.T.C.A., Penal Code § 36.08;

(4)

A loan from a lending institution made in its regular course of business on the same terms generally available to the public;

(5)

A scholarship or fellowship awarded on the same terms and based on the same criteria that are applied to other applicants;

(6)

Any solicitation for civic or charitable causes;

(7)

Admission to an event in which the City official or employee is participating in connection with his or her spouse's position;

(8)

Ceremonial and protocol gifts presented to City officials from a foreign government or international or multinational organization and accepted for the City;

(9)

Admission to a widely attended event, such as a convention, conference, symposium, forum, panel discussion, dinner, viewing, reception or similar event, offered by the sponsor of the event, and unsolicited by the City official or employee, if attending or participating in an official capacity, including:

a.

The official or employee participates in the event as a speaker or panel participant by presenting information related to matters before the City;

b.

The official or employee performs a ceremonial function appropriate to that individual's position with the City; or

c.

Attendance at the event is appropriate to the performance of the official duties or representative function of the official or employee;

(10)

Admission to a charity event provided by the sponsor of the event, where the offer is unsolicited by the City official or employee;

(11)

Admission to training or education program or other program, including meals and refreshments furnished to all attendees, if such training is related to the official or employee's official duties and the training is in the interest of the City.

(c)

Campaign contribution exception. The general rule stated in subsection (a) does not apply to a campaign contribution made pursuant to the Texas Election Code.

(d)

Gifts to closely related persons. A City official or employee shall take reasonable steps to persuade:

(1)

A parent, spouse, child, or other relative within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, or

(2)

An outside business associate

not to solicit, accept, or agree to accept any gift or benefit:

(3)

That reasonably tends to influence or reward the City official's or employee's official conduct, or

(4)

That the official or employee knows or should know is being offered with the intent to influence or reward the City official's or employee's discharge of official duties.

If a City official or employee required to file a financial disclosure report under division 7 (Financial disclosure) knows that a gift or benefit meeting the requirements of subsections (d)(3) or (d)(4) of this rule has been accepted and retained by a person identified in subsections (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this rule, the official or employee shall promptly file a report with the City Clerk disclosing the donor, the value of the gift or benefit, the recipient, and the recipient's relationship to the official or employee filing the report.

(e)

Definitions.

(1)

For purposes of this rule, a person is an "outside business associate" if both that person and the City official or employee own, with respect to the same entity:

a.

Ten (10) percent or more of the voting stock or shares of the entity, or

b.

Ten (10) percent or more of the fair market value of the entity.

(2)

For purposes of this rule, a "sponsor" of an event is the person or persons primarily responsible for organizing the event or sponsoring a table or tables. A person who simply contributes money or buys tickets to an event is not considered a sponsor.

(3)

A "source" is the individual or entity that funds an expenditure or series of expenditures. Expenditures made by multiple agents of the same source are deemed to be expenditures from a single source.

(4)

An item of "nominal value" is an item with a fair market value of fifty dollars ($50.00) or less.

(Ord. No. 2013-05-09-0317, § 2(Att. B), 5-9-13; Ord. No. 2018-06-21-0491 , § 1(Att. A), 6-21-18)