Gov. Code, § 89503 · Article 2. Gifts
Gov. Code, § 89503
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) An elected state officer, elected officer of a local government agency, or other individual specified in Section 87200 shall not accept gifts from any single source in any calendar year with a total value of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(b) (1) A candidate for elective state office, for judicial office, or for elective office in a local government agency shall not accept gifts from any single source in any calendar year with a total value of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250). A person shall be deemed a candidate for purposes of this subdivision when the person has filed a statement of organization as a committee for election to a state or local office, a declaration of intent, or a declaration of candidacy, whichever occurs first. A person shall not be deemed a candidate for purposes of this subdivision after the person is sworn into the elective office, or, if the person lost the election, after the person has terminated the person’s campaign statement filing obligations for that office pursuant to Section 84214 or after certification of the election results, whichever is earlier.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to any person who is a candidate as described in paragraph (1) for judicial office on or before December 31, 1996.
(c) A member of a state board or commission or designated employee of a state or local government agency shall not accept gifts from any single source in any calendar year with a total value of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) if the member or employee would be required to report the receipt of income or gifts from that source on the member’s statement of economic interests.
(d) This section does not apply to a person in the person’s capacity as judge. This section does not apply to a person in the person’s capacity as a part-time member of the governing board of any public institution of higher education unless that position is an elective office.
(e) This section does not prohibit or limit the following:
(1) Payments, advances, or reimbursements for travel and related lodging and subsistence permitted by Section 89506.
(2) Wedding gifts and gifts exchanged between individuals on birthdays, holidays, and other similar occasions, provided that the gifts exchanged are not substantially disproportionate in value.
(f) Beginning on January 1, 1993, the commission shall adjust the gift limitation in this section on January 1 of each odd-numbered year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, rounded to the nearest ten dollars ($10).
(g) The limitations in this section are in addition to the limitations on gifts in Section 86203.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 50, Sec. 225. (AB 378) Effective January 1, 2022. Conditionally superseded; see amendment by Stats. 2025, Ch. 278.
Another version listed by the Legislative Counsel
Conditionally operative pursuant to Sec. 78 of Stats. 2025, Ch. 278.
(a) An elected state officer, elected officer of a local government agency, or other individual specified in Section 87200 shall not accept gifts from any single source in any calendar year with a total value of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(b) (1) A candidate for elective state office, for judicial office, or for elective office in a local government agency shall not accept gifts from any single source in any calendar year with a total value of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250). A person shall be deemed a candidate for purposes of this subdivision when the person has filed a committee registration for election to a state or local office, a declaration of intent, or a declaration of candidacy, whichever occurs first. A person shall not be deemed a candidate for purposes of this subdivision after the person is sworn into the elective office, or, if the person lost the election, after the person has terminated the person’s campaign filing obligations for that office pursuant to Section 84214 or after certification of the election results, whichever is earlier.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to any person who is a candidate as described in paragraph (1) for judicial office on or before December 31, 1996.
(c) A member of a state board or commission or designated employee of a state or local government agency shall not accept gifts from any single source in any calendar year with a total value of more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) if the member or employee would be required to report the receipt of income or gifts from that source on the member’s statement of economic interests.
(d) This section does not apply to a person in the person’s capacity as judge. This section does not apply to a person in the person’s capacity as a part-time member of the governing board of any public institution of higher education unless that position is an elective office.
(e) This section does not prohibit or limit the following:
(1) Payments, advances, or reimbursements for travel and related lodging and subsistence permitted by Section 89506.
(2) Wedding gifts and gifts exchanged between individuals on birthdays, holidays, and other similar occasions, provided that the gifts exchanged are not substantially disproportionate in value.
(f) Beginning on January 1, 1993, the commission shall adjust the gift limitation in this section on January 1 of each odd-numbered year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, rounded to the nearest ten dollars ($10).
(g) The limitations in this section are in addition to the limitations on gifts in Section 86203.
History (another version listed by the Legislative Counsel)
Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 278, Sec. 65. (AB 808) Effective January 1, 2026. Conditionally operative pursuant to Sec. 78 of Stats. 2025, Ch. 278.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=89503.
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- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
- the Legislative Counsel lists 2 versions of this section; the version shown is the one in force by its history, the other is under "Another version listed by the Legislative Counsel" (conditional)
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