2.09.220 Restrictions on payments and expenses benefiting local public officials.
A. No local government lobbyist or a registered client shall make any payment or incur any expense, including any gift of travel, that directly benefits an elected city officeholder, candidate for elected city office, a designated employee, or a member of the immediate family of one of these individuals, in which the cumulative value of such payments or expenses exceeds $240 during any calendar year. This $240 limit may be adjusted every four years by the OGC to account for inflation. The payments and expenses specified in subsections 2.09.220(A)-(D) include gifts, honoraria and any other form of compensation but do not include:
1. gifts of food or refreshment worth $25 or less per occasion, if the local governmental lobbyist is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the gift of food or refreshment is offered in connection with a public event held by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and the same gift of food or refreshment is made available to all attendees of the public event;
2. payments or expenses that, within thirty (30) days after receipt, are returned unused or are reimbursed;
3. gifts of food or beverage worth $25 or less per occasion, if said gift is provided in the home of an individual local governmental lobbyist or individual local governmental lobbyist’s registered client when the individual or member of the individual’s family is present;
4. a pass or ticket to a fundraising event for a campaign committee or candidate, or for an organization exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
5. informational material;
6. campaign contributions not to exceed the limit imposed by the Berkeley Election Reform Act or state law, as applicable; and
7. salaries, consulting fees or other payments for services rendered or bargained for. No other exception to, or exclusion from, the definition of gift or honoraria contained in the Political Reform Act of 1974 as amended, and the regulations issued pursuant thereto, shall apply to this section.
For purposes of the gift limits imposed by subsections (A)-(C), gifts shall be aggregated set forth in California Code of Regulations, Title 2, Section 18945.1, as it may hereafter be amended.
B. No lobbyist or a lobbyist’s registered client shall make any payment to a third-party for the purpose of making any payment or incurring any expense, including any gift of travel, that directly benefits an elected city officeholder, candidate for elected city office, a designated employee, or a member of the immediate family of one of these individuals.
C. No elected city officeholder, candidate for elected city office, or designated employee may accept or solicit any payment or expense, including any gift of travel, from any lobbyist for the individual’s personal benefit or for the personal benefit of a member of the immediate family of one of these individuals.
D. No elected city officeholder, candidate for elected city office, or designated employee may accept or solicit any payment or expense, including any gift of travel, from a third-party if the officer knows or has reason to know that the third-party is providing the payment or expense on behalf of a lobbyist. (Ord. 7749-NS, 2021; Ord. 7629-NS § 1 (part), 2018)