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KilroyLeges t1_isxq4px wrote

I'm in an industry which routinely bids on projects with public entities, including states, cities, and counties. In almost every situation, there is explicit language regarding procurement regulations or laws that strictly prohibit offering any kind of gratuity to a public official. It's standard across the board to have laws in place that ban companies from offering anything of "value" to a public employee. Doing so is supposed to be grounds, at a minimum, for disqualification of that vendor from the current bid, possibly for all future business, and the potential of criminal prosecution. I guess if it's a LEO though receiving the bribe, they have no reason to prosecute?

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ElToberino t1_isxu606 wrote

Yeah that's pretty egregious. When I was a kid, we used to get all these free movie passes because my grandpa was friends with the founder of Cinemark. My dad wound up getting in trouble for that and we had to stop, because he was a government employee. Even his children getting free movie tickets from a company completely unrelated to his position was impermissible.

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Davran t1_isxxdp0 wrote

State government employee here. I am legally prohibited from accepting anything from anyone above a "nominal value" (usually about $5). There are exceptions, like for example if there's a coffee machine in the lobby that anyone can access it's fair game, or if they're handing out pens or something at a conference to anyone who asks.

If I'm asked to speak and offered a honorarium (which is standard for speakers in a lot of situations) it must be reviewed by our ethics attorney for any potential conflicts before I can accept.

If someone mails me a fruit basket or something for Christmas or whatever (it's never happened) I'm supposed to return it, or if they won't take it back it becomes community property in the break room.

They take this stuff very seriously, and we do too. Most of us won't even accept the free cup of coffee even though we legally could.

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Captain_Mazhar t1_isy0wba wrote

Yep, same here in Texas. There is an absolutely stupid legal loophole regarding personalized items, which the Texas penal code assigns a value of zero because somehow they have no resale value, thus no market rate, so our ethics board had to put an internal rule in place regarding that.

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TheGunshipLollipop t1_itlpfyv wrote

"Say, would you like this free football? It's signed by some guy named Aaron Rodgers, so it has zero resale value but I thought you might need an extra football even if it has been tragically defaced."

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KilroyLeges t1_isxxqit wrote

That’s my understanding of these rules. I had a client who I built a close relationship with as we put the contract together. The lawyers on both sides slowed it so it took like a year to sign the contracts which delayed their project. The couple of main staff I worked with there and their lead procurement person and I decided to grab some drinks and dinner to celebrate and because it was right at the holidays. They wouldn’t let me pay any of their tab because of the rules, not even a shared appetizer.

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Davran t1_it2bewt wrote

Haha yeah, there's no way I'd let any of the outside folks I work with pay for dinner. I've had a few folks offer me lunch because their company allows them to spring for sandwiches or whatever for visitors if the meeting is close to lunch. Those guys always seem so dejected because me declining usually means they don't get to order for the rest of the office.

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Disastrous-Golf7216 t1_isyagrm wrote

So when it is called a gift it is not gratuity. That is how these politicians get away with it.

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