Ethics Opinion Search

August 21, 1991


Opinion No. 1991-33


TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS:


Pursuant to K.S.A. 46-254, the Kansas Commission on Governmental
Standards and Conduct takes this opportunity to issue its opinion
concerning House Bill 2454, Section 26(c).

House Bill 2454, Section 26, in its entirety states:

"(a) No state officer or employee or candidate for state office shall
accept, or agree to accept any economic opportunity, gift, loan,
gratuity, special discount, favor, hospitality, or service having an
aggregate value of $40 or more in any calendar year from any one
person known to have a special interest, under circumstances where
such person knows or should know that a major purpose of the donor is
to influence such person in the performance of their official duties
or prospective official duties.

(b) No person with a special interest shall offer, pay, give, or make
any economic opportunity, gift, loan, gratuity, special discount,
favor, hospitality or service having an aggregate value of $40 or more
in any calendar year to any state officer or employee or candidate for
state office with a major purpose of influencing such officer or
employee in the performance of official duties or prospective official
duties.

(c) No person licensed, inspected or regulated by a state agency shall
offer, pay, give or make any economic opportunity, gift, loan,
gratuity, special discount, favor, hospitality, or service having an
aggregate value of $40 or more in any calendar year to such agency or
any state officer or employee of that agency.

(d) Hospitality in the form of recreation, food and beverages are
presumed not to be given to influence a state officer or employee in
the performance of such officer's or employee's official duties or
prospective official duties, except when a particular course of
official action is to be followed as a condition thereon. For the
purposes of this subsection, the term recreation shall not include the
providing of payment of the cost of transportation or lodging.
Opinion No.
August 21, 1991
Page 2



(e) Except when a particular course of official action is to be
followed as a condition thereon, this section shall not apply to (1)
any contribution reported in compliance with the campaign finance act;
or (2) a commercially reasonable loan or other commercial transaction
in the ordinary course of business.

(f) No state officer or employee shall accept any payment of honoraria
for any speaking engagement except that a member of the state
legislature or a part-time officer or employee of the executive branch
of government shall be allowed to receive reimbursement in the
preparation for and the making of a presentation at a speaking
engagement in an amount fixed by the Kansas commission on governmental
standards and conduct prior to the acceptance of the speaking
engagement. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
the reimbursement of state officers and employees for reasonable
expenses incurred in attending seminars, conferences and other
speaking engagements.

(g) The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to or
prohibit the acceptance of gifts from governmental agencies of foreign
nations except that any gift accepted from such foreign governmental
agency, having an aggregate value of $100 or more shall be accepted on
behalf of the state of Kansas.

(h) No legislator shall solicit any contribution to be made to any
organization for the purpose of paying for travel, subsistence and
other expenses incurred by such legislator or other members of the
legislature in attending and participating in meetings, programs and
activities of such organization or those conducted or sponsored by
such organization, but nothing in this act or the act of which this
act is amendatory shall be construed to prohibit any legislator from
accepting reimbursement for actual expenses for travel, subsistence,
hospitality, entertainment and other expenses incurred in attending
and participating in meetings, programs and activities sponsored by
the government of any foreign nation, or any organization organized
under the laws of such foreign nation or any international
organization or any national, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization
established for the purpose of serving, informing, educating and
strengthening state legislatures in all states of the nation, when
paid from funds of such organization and nothing shall be construed to
limit or prohibit the expenditure of funds of and by any such
organization for such purposes."

The issue is whether the exception in subsection (d) for hospitality
items applies to subsection (c). In other words is any individual
licensed, regulated or inspected by a state agency limited to giving
$40.00 in a calendar year to a member of that agency including the
provision of food, beverage and recreation in the hospitality setting.
Opinion No.
August 21, 1991
Page 3



In analyzing this situation, it must be noted that the language in
subsection (d) relates to a presumption concerning the purpose of the
provision of hospitality. This presumption is important under
subsection (a) and (b) of this section because under those
subsections the gift limitations are qualified by a purpose to
influence the recipient test. This is not true, however, under
subsection (c) and it is therefore our opinion that subsection (d)
does not modify subsection (c). Thus the limitation on hospitality in
subsection (c) situations is absolute at $40.00 in a calendar year.
For example, officers and employees of agencies such as the Insurance
Department, Department of Transporation, Kansas Corporation
Commission, Department of Agriculture, etc., who are involved in
licensing, regulating or inspecting, may not accept lunches, golf
games, dinners, drinks or any other thing of value in excess of $40.00
in a calendar year from any person the agency licenses, regulates or
inspects.

Sincerely,



Richard C. Loux, Chairman

By Direction of the Commission

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