Advisory Opinion No. 2004-8

Re: The Honorable Matt Brown

QUESTION PRESENTED:

The petitioner, the Rhode Island Secretary of State, a state elected position, requests an advisory opinion regarding his acceptance and disclosure of wedding gifts in accordance with the Code of Ethics.

RESPONSE:

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the petitioner, the Rhode Island Secretary of State, a state elected position, must disclose his receipt of any wedding gifts valued at more than $100 on his annual financial disclosure statement, subject to certain exemptions for gifts received from relatives.

See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-17(b)(4). Further, he must file a gift report with the Ethics Commission detailing all wedding gifts received from “interested persons” once he has received $100 or more worth of gifts cumulatively from all interested persons during the calendar year. See Commission Regulation 5009(e). The petitioner may not accept or receive any gifts of cash and/or any gift valued more than $150 from an interested person. See Commission Regulation 5009(a). Finally, wedding gifts received from a couple shall be deemed to be from a single source and, as such, are subject to a value limitation of $150 per gift if given by an interested person.

The petitioner advises that his official duties as the Rhode Island Secretary of State include the following: 1) acting as a record keeper for the activities of the General Assembly; 2) maintaining filings for Rhode Island corporations and related businesses; 3) maintaining the State Library and State Archives and 4) supervision of several parts of the electoral process. He informs that he was married on January 17, 2004 and seeks guidance from the Commission regarding his acceptance and disclosure of wedding gifts in accordance with both Commission Regulation 5009 and R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-17(b)(4). He also requests clarification regarding the limit on the value of wedding gifts he and his spouse may accept, particularly with regard to a gift received from a couple, rather than an individual.

As a state elected official, the petitioner is required to file an annual financial statement with the Ethics Commission pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-16(a). The financial statement must identify any person, business entity or other organization from whom he, his spouse or dependent child received a gift or contribution of money or property in excess of $100 in value, or a series of gifts or contributions of money or property totaling more than $100 in value received from the same source, and a description of each gift or contribution. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-17(b)(4).

In crafting the legislation, the General Assembly did not make a distinction between social gifts and, for instance, gifts received because of or through a professional relationship.

Accordingly, the petitioner must disclose on his financial disclosure statement the receipt of any wedding gifts if the gift is worth more than $100, either by itself or in combination with other gifts given by that person. The 2004 financial disclosure statement must be filed with the Commission on or before the last Friday in April 2005. Similarly, to the extent that the petitioner received any wedding gifts in excess of $100 in value prior to the close of calendar year 2003, those gifts must be disclosed on his 2003 financial disclosure statement, which must be filed on or before April 30, 2004.

However, the petitioner need not disclose those gifts received from certain family members, e.g., siblings, parents, children, grandparents, great grandparents, grandchildren, great grandchildren, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews or in-laws, as well as first cousins. See Commission Regulation 36-14-2001(21). R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-17(b)(4) exempts from financial disclosure those gifts in excess of $100 in value received from relatives within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity. Although the first cousin relationship is absent from Regulation 2001(21)’s definition of third degree relations, the instructions to Question 10 on the financial statement specifically exempt from disclosure those gifts received from first cousins.

No person subject to the Code of Ethics, either directly or as the beneficiary of a gift or other thing of value given to a spouse or dependent child, shall accept or receive any gift of cash, forbearance or forgiveness of indebtedness from an “interested person” without the interested person receiving lawful consideration of equal or greater value in return. Commission Regulation 36-14-5009(a). Further, he or she shall not accept or receive any gift or other thing having a value greater than $150, but in no case having an aggregate value of $450 in any calendar year, including but not limited to gifts, loans, rewards, promises of future employment, favors or services, gratuities or special discounts, from a single “interested person,” without the interested person receiving lawful consideration of equal or greater value in return. Commission Regulation 36-14-5009(b). An “interested person” is defined as a person or a representative of a person or business “that has a direct financial interest in a decision that the person subject to the Code of Ethics is authorized to make, or participate in the making of, as part of his or her official duties.” Commission Regulation 5009(c). The regulation does provide for certain exceptions, such as plaques and services to assist a public official in performing his or her public duties, but wedding or social gifts are not among the enumerated exceptions.

Additionally, public officials and employees who accept gifts from interested persons are required to report such gifts to the Ethics Commission by January 31 of the succeeding calendar year, if the combined value of gifts from all interested persons reaches $100 or more in a calendar year. Once the cumulative threshold of $100 is reached, any and all gifts or other things of value received by a public official or employee from “interested persons” must be reported. For all gifts received from interested persons during the calendar year, the report must include the following: 1) the date the gift or other thing of value was received; 2) a description of the gift or other thing of value; 3) the fair market value of the gift or other thing of value; 4) the name, address and employer of the interested person who provided the gift or other thing of value; and 5) the name of any organization represented by the interested person or on whose behalf the interested person was acting in providing the gift or other thing of value.

Based upon the foregoing, the Commission concludes that the petitioner may not accept or receive 1) any wedding gift of cash from an interested person; and 2) any wedding gift from an interested person that exceeds $150 in value.

He also may not accept or receive a wedding gift where, upon acceptance or receipt of said gift, the total of all gifts received from that interested person would be $450 or greater in a calendar year. See Commission Regulation 5009(b). If the petitioner receives gifts from interested persons totaling $100 or more during calendar year 2004, he must file a gift report with the Commission by January 31, 2005 disclosing all gifts received from interested persons during the calendar year. Any wedding gifts received from interested persons must be included on said report, regardless of their value.

To the extent that the petitioner received wedding gifts from interested persons during calendar year 2003, and the total of all gifts received from interested persons in 2003 is $100 or greater, those wedding gifts also should be included on the gift report filed with the Commission by January 31, 2004.

Finally, the petitioner seeks clarification of the limits on the value of wedding gifts he and his spouse may accept, particularly with regard to a gift received from a couple, rather than an individual. The Code of Ethics does not place any limitation on the value of gifts that the petitioner and his spouse may accept from non-interested persons. However, with regard to interested persons, the petitioner cannot accept a gift of cash, a gift in excess of $150 value per occasion and/or gifts totaling $450 in any calendar year from a single interested person. Wedding or other gifts received from a couple shall be deemed to be from a single source, and as such, are subject to a value limitation of $150 per gift if either member of the couple is an interested person. If both members of the couple are interested persons, a gift given shall be deemed from a single interested source and shall be subject to the same value limitation of $150.

Code Citations:

36-14-16(a)

36-14-17(b)(4)

36-14-2001(21)

36-14-5009

Related Advisory Opinions:

99-88

Keywords:

Gifts