September 5, 1996
DO-96-036
MEMORANDUM
TO: Designated Agency Ethics Officials, General Counsels
and Inspectors General
FROM Stephen D. Potts
Director
SUBJECT: Publication of the Final Rule Amending the Widely
Attended Gatherings Gift Exception Provision
The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) recently published a
final rule to revise the widely attended gatherings gift exception
at 5 C.F.R. § 2635.204(g) of the executive branch Standards of
Ethical Conduct regulation (Standards). See 61 Federal Register
42965-42970 (August 20, 1996). The rule will become effective on
September 19, 1996. The amendments provide that agencies can
authorize their employees to accept gifts of free attendance at
such gatherings from persons other than the sponsors and permit
authorization for a guest other than the spouse to accompany an
employee free of charge. In addition, the amendments clarify the
"widely attended gatherings" definition.
The amendments to the regulation stemmed from a 1993 White
House determination that agency employees should be permitted to
accept invitations to press dinners from nonsponsor news
organizations. Shortly after the Standards took effect, the
President suspended for six months the application of that portion
of § 2635.204(g)(2) that had limited the authority for acceptance
of invitations of free attendance at widely attended press dinners
to those offered by the sponsor. The suspension, as subsequently
extended by the White House, has applied only to the acceptance,
with agency approval, of offers of free attendance at press dinners
from nonsponsor news organizations, provided that all the other
requirements of the regulation were met. The White House also
asked OGE to consider revising § 2635.204(g)(2) to allow employees
to accept invitations to press dinners from nonsponsors or, in the
alternative, to a broader range of widely attended gatherings.
Last year, OGE published proposed amendments to the widely attended
gatherings gift exception based primarily on the alternative White
House request. See 60 Federal Register 31415-31418 (June 15,
1995). With OGE's publication of these final rule amendments, the
White House suspension as to press dinners will be superseded once
the new, broader OGE amendments become effective on September 19,
1996.
Once effective, the final rule amendments will allow agencies
to authorize an employee to accept an unsolicited invitation to
various widely attended gatherings (not just press dinners) from a
nonsponsor where there has been a determination of agency interest
under § 2635.204(g)(3) and where more than 100 persons are expected
to attend the event and the gift of free attendance has a market
value of $250 or less. The additional requirements for a
nonsponsor gift are designed to ensure that acceptance of such a
gift is in the best interest of the agency concerned and does not
involve any appearance of undue influence or loss of impartiality.
Under § 2635.204(g)(2) as originally issued, an employee could
accept an unsolicited gift of free attendance at all or part of a
widely attended gathering from only the sponsor of the event,
subject to a determination of agency interest.
Additionally, under the amendments, agencies will be able to
authorize an employee to accept free attendance for one
accompanying guest at an event the employee is authorized to
attend. Such authority for a guest's free attendance is subject to
the conditions that others in attendance will generally be
accompanied by a spouse or other guest and that the gift is from
the same person who invited the employee. See paragraph (g)(6) of
§ 2635.204 as amended. Under the version of that provision as
originally promulgated, only the accompanying spouse of an employee
could so attend free of charge. In cases involving a nonsponsor
invitation, the value of the guest's free attendance must be
aggregated with that of the employee's in determining whether the
$250 cap is met (see new Example 2 following paragraph (g)(6) of
§ 2635.204 as amended).
The final rule amendments also clarify that widely attended
gatherings are those events expected to be attended by a large
number of persons and at which persons with a diversity of views or
interests are expected to be present. See the second sentence of
paragraph (g)(2) of § 2635.204 as amended and new Example 3
following paragraph (g)(6) thereof.
A copy of the rulemaking document is attached; it is also
available on OGE's electronic bulletin board TEBBS. The TEBBS
version reflects the correction of a few minor typographical errors
which will soon be made in the Federal Register.