Connecticut Gift Statutes

Gift Made with Intent to Influence

(f) No person shall offer or give to a public official or state employee or candidate for public office or his spouse, his parent, brother, sister or child or spouse of such child or a business with which he is associated, anything of value, including, but not limited to, a gift, loan, political contribution, reward or promise of future employment based on any understanding that the vote, official action or judgment of the public official, state employee or candidate for public office would be or had been influenced thereby.

(g) No public official or state employee or candidate for public office shall solicit or accept anything of value, including but not limited to, a gift, loan, political contribution, reward or promise of future employment based on any understanding that the vote, official action or judgment of the public official or state employee or candidate for public office would be or had been influenced thereby.

Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 1-84(f), (g).

Extra Compensation for Official Duties

(k) No public official, spouse of the Governor or state employee shall accept a fee or honorarium for an article, appearance or speech, or for participation at an event, in the public official’s, spouse’s or state employee’s official capacity, provided a public official, Governor’s spouse or state employee may receive payment or reimbursement for necessary expenses for any such activity in his or her official capacity. If a public official, Governor’s spouse or state employee receives such a payment or reimbursement for lodging or out-of-state travel, or both, the public official, Governor’s spouse or state employee shall, not later than thirty days thereafter, file a report of the payment or reimbursement with the Office of State Ethics, unless the payment or reimbursement is provided by the federal government or another state government. If a public official, Governor’s spouse or state employee does not file such report within such period, either intentionally or due to gross negligence on the public official’s, Governor’s spouse’s or state employee’s part, the public official, Governor’s spouse or state employee shall return the payment or reimbursement. If any failure to file such report is not intentional or due to gross negligence on the part of the public official, Governor’s spouse or state employee, the public official, Governor’s spouse or state employee shall not be subject to any penalty under this chapter. When a public official, Governor’s spouse or state employee attends an event in this state in the public official’s, Governor’s spouse’s or state employee’s official capacity and as a principal speaker at such event and receives admission to or food or beverage at such event from the sponsor of the event, such admission or food or beverage shall not be considered a gift and no report shall be required from such public official, spouse or state employee or from the sponsor of the event.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-84(k).

Gift Regardless of Giver Status

No current state statute or regulation falls under the category of “Gift Regardless of Giver’s Status.”

Gift from Lobbyist or Regulated Entity

§ 1-84. Prohibited activities. Exception re employment of immediate family at constituent unit

(j) No public official, state employee or candidate for public office, or a member of any such person’s staff or immediate family shall knowingly accept any gift, as defined in subdivision (5) of section 1-79, from a person known to be a registrant or anyone known to be acting on behalf of a registrant.

. . .

(m) No public official or state employee shall knowingly accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, as defined in subsection (5) of section 1-79, from any person the public official or state employee knows or has reason to know: (1) Is doing business with or seeking to do business with the department or agency in which the public official or state employee is employed; (2) is engaged in activities which are directly regulated by such department or agency; or (3) is prequalified under section 4a-100. No person shall knowingly give, directly or indirectly, any gift or gifts in violation of this provision. For the purposes of this subsection, the exclusion to the term “gift” in subparagraph (L) of subdivision (5) of section 1-79 for a gift for the celebration of a major life event shall not apply. Any person prohibited from making a gift under this subsection shall report to the Office of State Ethics any solicitation of a gift from such person by a state employee or public official.

Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 1-84(j), (m).

§ 1-97. Restrictions on activities of registrants and lobbyists. Contingent compensation prohibited. Report to recipient required

(a) No registrant or anyone acting on behalf of a registrant shall knowingly give a gift, as defined in subdivision (7) of section 1-91, to any state employee, public official, candidate for public office or a member of any such person’s staff or immediate family. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit any activity prohibited under section 53a-147 or 53a-148.

Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 1-97(a).

Definitions and Exceptions

Gift Defined and Definition Exceptions

(5) “Gift” means anything of value, which is directly and personally received, unless consideration of equal or greater value is given in return. “Gift” does not include:
1. A political contribution otherwise reported as required by law or a donation or payment as described in subdivision (9) or (10) of subsection (b) of section 9-601a;
2. Services provided by persons volunteering their time, if provided to aid or promote the success or defeat of any political party, any candidate or candidates for public office or the position of convention delegate or town committee member or any referendum question;
3. A commercially reasonable loan made on terms not more favorable than loans made in the ordinary course of business;
4. A gift received from (i) an individual’s spouse, fiancé or fiancée, (ii) the parent, grandparent, brother or sister of such spouse or such individual, or (iii) the child of such individual or the spouse of such child;
5. Goods or services (i) that are provided to a state agency or quasi-public agency (I) for use on state or quasi-public agency property, or (II) that support an event or the participation by a public official or state employee at an event, and (ii) that facilitate state or quasi-public agency action or functions. As used in this subparagraph, “state property” means property owned by the state or a quasi-public agency or property leased to a state agency or quasi-public agency;
6. A certificate, plaque or other ceremonial award costing less than one hundred dollars;
7. A rebate, discount or promotional item available to the general public;
8. Printed or recorded informational material germane to state action or functions;
9. Food or beverage or both, costing less than fifty dollars in the aggregate per recipient in a calendar year, and consumed on an occasion or occasions at which the person paying, directly or indirectly, for the food or beverage, or his representative, is in attendance;
10. Food or beverage or both, costing less than fifty dollars per person and consumed at a publicly noticed legislative reception to which all members of the General Assembly are invited and which is hosted not more than once in any calendar year by a lobbyist or business organization. For the purposes of such limit, (i) a reception hosted by a lobbyist who is an individual shall be deemed to have also been hosted by the business organization which such lobbyist owns or is employed by, and (ii) a reception hosted by a business organization shall be deemed to have also been hosted by all owners and employees of the business organization who are lobbyists. In making the calculation for the purposes of such fifty-dollar limit, the donor shall divide the amount spent on food and beverage by the number of persons whom the donor reasonably expects to attend the reception;
11. Food or beverage or both, costing less than fifty dollars per person and consumed at a publicly noticed reception to which all members of the General Assembly from a region of the state are invited and which is hosted not more than once in any calendar year by a lobbyist or business organization. For the purposes of such limit, (i) a reception hosted by a lobbyist who is an individual shall be deemed to have also been hosted by the business organization which such lobbyist owns or is employed by, and (ii) a reception hosted by a business organization shall be deemed to have also been hosted by all owners and employees of the business organization who are lobbyists. In making the calculation for the purposes of such fifty-dollar limit, the donor shall divide the amount spent on food and beverage by the number of persons whom the donor reasonably expects to attend the reception. As used in this subparagraph, “region of the state” means the established geographic service area of the organization hosting the reception;
12. A gift, including, but not limited to, food or beverage or both, provided by an individual for the celebration of a major life event, provided any such gift provided by an individual who is not a member of the family of the recipient does not exceed one thousand dollars in value;
13. Gifts costing less than one hundred dollars in the aggregate or food or beverage provided at a hospitality suite at a meeting or conference of an interstate legislative association, by a person who is not a registrant or is not doing business with the state of Connecticut;
14. Admission to a charitable or civic event, including food and beverage provided at such event, but excluding lodging or travel expenses, at which a public official or state employee participates in his or her official capacity, provided such admission is provided by the primary sponsoring entity;
15. Anything of value provided by an employer of (i) a public official, (ii) a state employee, or (iii) a spouse of a public official or state employee, to such official, employee or spouse, provided such benefits are customarily and ordinarily provided to others in similar circumstances;
16. Anything having a value of not more than ten dollars, provided the aggregate value of all things provided by a donor to a recipient under this subdivision in any calendar year does not exceed fifty dollars;
17. Training that is provided by a vendor for a product purchased by a state or quasi-public agency that is offered to all customers of such vendor;
18. Travel expenses, lodging, food, beverage and other benefits customarily provided by a prospective employer, when provided to a student at a public institution of higher education whose employment is derived from such student’s status as a student at such institution, in connection with bona fide employment discussions; or
19. Expenses of a public official, paid by the party committee of which party such official is a member, for the purpose of accomplishing the lawful purposes of the committee. As used in this subparagraph, “party committee” has the same meaning as provided in subdivision (2) of section 9-601 and “lawful purposes of the committee” has the same meaning as provided in subsection (g) of section 9-607.