§ 1-01 — Valuable Gifts

§ 1-01 Valuable Gifts.

(a) What is a Valuable Gift. (1) For the purposes of Charter § 2604(b)(5), a "valuable gift" is any gift to a public servant that has a value of $50.00 or more, whether in the form of money, service, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, promise, or item of value in any other form. (2) For the purposes of Charter § 2604(b)(5), a "valuable gift" does not include: i. An unsolicited discount available to the general public, all government employees, or all City employees. ii. A prize from raffles or giveaways made available irrespective of whether the participants are public servants and where participation in the raffle or giveaway does not use City resources or identify the participant as a public servant. iii. Free attendance at labor union conferences and events, and any attendant meals or refreshments, offered by such union for the purposes of conducting union business. iv. Travel expenses paid by a prospective employer for a public servant to interview for a position, provided that the travel expenses are reasonable, the trip is no longer than necessary to complete the interview, and the public servant complies with City Charter § 2604(d)(1). (3) For the purposes of Charter § 2604(b)(5), two or more gifts to a public servant will be considered a single gift if they are given to the public servant within a twelve-month period by the same person or persons who the public servant knows or should know are: i. family members of one another; or ii. directors, trustees, or employees of the same firm or affiliated firms. (b) Definitions. As used in this section: (1) The term "family member" means: i. a spouse, domestic partner, child, grandchild, parent, sibling, and grandparent; ii. a parent, child, or sibling of a spouse or domestic partner; and iii. a spouse or domestic partner of a parent, child, or sibling. (2) The terms "child," "grandchild," "parent," "grandparent," and "sibling" include a step-child, step-grandchild, step-parent, step-grandparent, and step-sibling. (3) Firms are "affiliated" if: i. one is a subsidiary of the other; or ii. a single person or firm owns at least 25 percent of each firm. (c) Gifts from Family Members or Close Personal Friends. For the purposes of Charter § 2604(b)(5), a public servant may accept gifts that are customary on family or social occasions from a family member or close personal friend who the public servant knows is or intends to become engaged in business dealings with the City, when: (1) it can be shown under all relevant circumstances that it is the family or personal relationship rather than the business dealings that is the controlling factor; and (2) the public servant's receipt of the gift would not result in or create the appearance of: i. using their office for private gain; ii. giving preferential treatment to any person or entity; iii. losing independence or impartiality; or iv. accepting gifts or favors for performing official duties. (d) For the purposes of Section 2604(b)(5) of the Charter, a public servant may accept awards, plaques and other similar items which are publicly presented in recognition of public service, provided that the item or items have no substantial resale value. (e) Meals and Refreshments at Meetings. For the purposes of Charter Section 2604(b)(3) and Charter Section 2604(b)(5), a public servant may accept free meals or refreshments otherwise prohibited as valuable gifts at a meeting attended in the course of and for the purpose of conducting City business, provided that: (1) the public servant did not solicit the meal or refreshments; (2) the meal or refreshments are available to all participants without charge; (3) the meal or refreshments are not separable from the meeting at which the City business is being conducted; and (4) the meeting at which the City business is being conducted was not scheduled for the purpose of obtaining the meal or refreshments. (f) For the purposes of Section 2604(b)(5) of the Charter, a public servant may: (1) accept meals or refreshments when participating as a panelist or speaker in a professional or educational program and the meals or refreshments are provided to all panelists; (2) be present at a professional or educational program as a guest of the sponsoring organization; (3) be a guest at ceremonies or functions sponsored or encouraged by the City as a matter of City policy, such as, for example, those involving housing, education, legislation or government administration; (4) attend a public affair of an organization composed of representatives of business, labor, professions, news media or organizations of a civic, charitable or community nature, when invited by the sponsoring organization, provided that this exception does not apply when the invitation is from an organization which has business dealings, as defined in Section 2601(8) of the Charter, with, or a matter before, the public servant's agency; (5) be a guest at any function or occasion where the attendance of the public servant has been approved in writing as in the interests of the City, in advance where practicable or within a reasonable time thereafter, by the employee's agency head or by a deputy mayor if the public servant is an agency head. (g) For the purposes of Section 2604(b)(5) of the Charter, a public servant who is an elected official or a member of the elected official's staff authorized by the elected official may attend a function given by an organization composed of representatives of business, labor, professions, news media or organizations of a civic, charitable or community nature, when invited by the sponsoring organization. For the purpose of this subdivision, the authorizing elected official for the central staff of the council is the speaker of the council. (h) Travel and Travel-Related Expenses. (1) For the purposes of Section 2604(b)(3) of the Charter and Section 2604(b)(5) of the Charter, a public servant may accept travel-related expenses from a third party as a gift to the City provided that the following conditions are met: i. the trip is for a City purpose and therefore could properly be paid for with City funds; ii. the travel arrangements are appropriate to that purpose; iii. the trip is no longer than reasonably necessary to accomplish the governmental business which is its City purpose; iv. the public servant received agency head approval in advance upon presenting such agency head with a detailed itinerary which reflects the trip's City purpose; and v. all solicitation for and reporting of travel-related expenses are made in accordance with 53 RCNY § 1-14. (2) An elected official whose trip includes both City governmental activities and political activities may accept as a gift to the City travel-related expenses from a third party only to cover the percentage of the costs equal to the time spent on City governmental business. A public servant working in an agency or office headed by an elected official may accompany such elected official on a mixed-purpose trip and use his or her personal time for the political purposes of the trip, but may accept as a gift to the City travel-related expenses from a third party only to cover the percentage of the costs equal to the time spent on governmental business. (3) A public servant may use his or her own funds and accrued leave for personal travel before or after a trip taken for a City purpose provided that: i. any increased or additional costs resulting from the personal travel are borne solely by the public servant; and ii. such personal travel receives agency head approval in advance. (4) A public servant may not accept compensation for personal use from a common carrier for the voluntary or involuntary surrender of a seat on a trip taken for a City purpose. A public servant offered compensation for the surrender of the seat must: i. request the compensation offered be issued in a form payable or transferable to the City; and ii. transfer such compensation to the City. (5) A public servant may accept and use vouchers for food, accommodations, and ground transportation offered by a common carrier in connection with delayed City travel, provided that the public servant does not use his or her City position to obtain additional compensation from the common carrier. (6) A public servant may accumulate reward points or frequent flyer miles for personal use while traveling on City business, provided that the public servant does not make a travel selection based on receiving or increasing frequent reward points or flyer benefits that result in additional expense to the City. (7) For the purposes of this subdivision, agency head approval must be by the head of the agency served by the public servant, or by a deputy mayor if the public servant is an agency head. A public servant who is an elected official, including a District Attorney, is the agency head for the public servants employed by the official's agency or office. A public servant who is an elected official, including a District Attorney, may provide agency head approval for himself or herself. (i) Gifts to Enhance Employee Morale. (1) For the purposes of Section 2604(b)(3) of the Charter and Section 2604(b)(5) of the Charter, tickets to an entertainment, sporting, or cultural event may be accepted as a gift to the City for use by City employees provided that: i. the attending public servants are not required to file annual disclosure reports pursuant to New York City Administrative Code § 12-110; ii. the offer of the free attendance is unsolicited by any public servant; iii. the public servants attending the event are selected according to a method that receives agency head approval in writing; and iv. the public servants attending the event are not involved in the consideration of any pending particular matter, legislative proposal, action on the City budget, or text of the zoning resolution in which the offeror of tickets or the host of the event is a party or has an interest. (j) Donations for Personal Emergencies. (1) For the purposes of Section 2604(b)(3) of the Charter and Section 2604(b)(5) of the Charter, donations may be solicited to alleviate a public servant's immediate and serious financial need caused by a personal emergency such as an accident, sickness, or being the victim of a crime, provided that no donations are solicited from: i. any subordinate of the beneficiary public servant or soliciting public servant; ii. any firm or individual that has a particular matter, legislative proposal, action on the City budget, or text of the zoning resolution pending before the beneficiary public servant or soliciting public servant; or iii. any firm with which the beneficiary public servant or soliciting public servant deals in their City work. (2) For the purposes of Section 2604(b)(3) of the Charter and Section 2604(b)(5) of the Charter, a public servant may accept donations to alleviate such public servant's immediate and serious financial need caused by a personal emergency, provided that the donors' identities are not in any way revealed to the public servant and the donations directly address the immediate and serious financial need caused by the personal emergency. (k) Gifts Between Public Servants. (1) Section 2604(b)(3) of the Charter does not prohibit a public servant from giving: i. a gift to a subordinate; or ii. a gift to or receiving a gift from a public servant who is not a superior or a subordinate. (2) Pursuant to Section 2604(b)(3) of the Charter, a public servant may not accept or solicit a gift from a subordinate or group of subordinates except: i. a public servant may accept a gift from a subordinate or group of subordinates in connection with a special occasion marking a major life event, such as a wedding, the birth or adoption of a child, or retirement, provided that the gift is of the type and value customary to the occasion in question; and ii. a public servant may accept a gift from a subordinate or group of subordinates in connection with a holiday, birthday, or other event if the total value of the gift does not exceed $10 and the gift is not cash or a cash equivalent. (l) Disposition of Impermissible Gifts. (1) If a public servant receives a gift not addressed by any of the exceptions set forth in this section, the public servant must return the gift to the giver. (2) If a gift cannot be returned, the public servant's agency head may, after providing written notice to the inspector general of the public servant's agency: i. donate the item to the agency, to an entity as defined in 53 RCNY § 1-14(a)(1)(iii), or to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York; ii. share the item within the agency; or iii. destroy the item. (m) Compatibility with Other Laws. (1) City agencies may establish rules concerning gifts for their own employees that may not be less restrictive than the requirements set forth in Section 2604(b)(3) of the Charter and Section 2604(b)(5) of the Charter as interpreted by this section. (2) Nothing in this section will be deemed to authorize a public servant to act or accept a gift of any value in violation of any applicable federal, state, or local law, including criminal laws, City agency rules, or Mayoral Executive Orders (including, but not limited to, Executive Order No. 16 of 1978 (as amended)), which may impose additional requirements to report gifts and offers of gifts to the agency's inspector general, whether or not a gift is accepted or returned. (3) This section must be read in conjunction with the provisions of Section 2604(b)(2) of the Charter and 53 RCNY § 1-13; Section 2604(b)(13) of the Charter; and Section 2604(b)(14) of the Charter and 53 RCNY § 1-10. (Amended City Record 4/3/2020, eff. 5/3/2020; amended City Record 3/1/2021, eff. 3/31/2021; amended City Record 5/27/2021, eff. 6/26/2021; amended City Record 4/26/2022, eff. 5/26/2022)