City of Santa Clara - File #: 18-1282

• File #: 18-1282
• Version: 1
• Type: Consent Calendar
• Status: Passed
• File created: 9/12/2018
• In control: Council and Authorities Concurrent Meeting
• On agenda: 10/2/2018
• Final action: 10/2/2018
• Title: Action on Gifts to Elected and Appointed Officials Policy

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
10/2/2018	1	Council and Authorities Concurrent Meeting	Adopted

REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Gifts to Elected and Appointed Officials Policy

Report
BACKGROUND
At the September 11, 2017 Governance Committee meeting, the Committee recommended that the Gifts to the City Policy be updated to address gifts to elected and appointed officials.

At the September 11, 2018 City Council meeting, both the Gifts to Elected and Appointed Officials policy and the Donations to the City policy were brought forward under one item for Council for approval; the City Council voted unanimously to defer taking action on the policies until the October 2, 2018 City Council meeting so that staff can notice the individual policies separately for full transparency.

DISCUSSION
The Gifts to Elected and Appointed Officials policy is a modification of existing policy, Council Policy 016, titled "Gifts to the City" (Attachment 1). This newly modified policy seeks to address gifts made directly to elected or appointed officials and provides guidelines for acceptance of gifts. To signify that the policy focuses on gifts made directly to elected or appointed officials, staff recommends changing the title of Council Policy 016 from "Gifts to the City" to "Gifts to Elected or Appointed Officials."

The amended Gifts to Elected and Appointed Officials Policy (Attachment 2) focuses on the process for accepting gifts given directly to elected and appointed City officials, including Board, Commission, or Committee members, and establishes the procedure and requirements for accepting gifts. This policy does not apply to tickets to events. As part of a previous Council directive, staff acknowledges that the Council referred the development of a policy regarding the donation and distribution of tickets to the City Manager and that policy development is pending completion.

The policy is intended to supplement, rather than replace, applicable state law including the provisions of the Political Reform Act. The annual gift limit amount can be found in t...