ethics reporting requirements

1. Applicable to Trustees of Public Retirement Systems

2. 2

3. Food, Drink, and Gift Restrictions(continued) When food and drink is provided at an event, the amount for each public servant is calculated based on the number of persons invited. The $50 limit does not apply to a gathering held �in conjunction with a meeting related to a national or regional organization or a meeting of a statewide organization of governmental officials or employees.� Issue: Must gathering be on program? 3

4. Food, Drink, and Gift Restrictions(continued) Public servants (not otherwise subject to restrictions on political activity) may accept complimentary admission to a fundraising event for a candidate or political party.* Public servants may accept complimentary admission to a civic, non-profit, educational, or political event if a program honoree, giving a speech, or a panel member.* * Exception does not apply to admission to any professional, semi-professional, or collegiate sporting event. 4

5. Food, Drink, and Gift Restrictions(continued) For an educational or professional development seminar or conference held in the U.S. or Canada you may accept: complimentary admission, lodging, and reasonable transportation. The invitation must meet certain criteria and it must be approved, prior to acceptance, by an agency head. Issue: How is approval granted? Details of the acceptance must be disclosed to the Board of Ethics within 60 days of acceptance. 5

6. ParticipationR.S. 42:1112 and 685 of the 2008 Regular Session Board members who have a conflict of interest shall recuse themselves from a vote, but shall not participate in the discussion or debate concerning the matter. 6

7. Financial Disclosure for TrusteesAct 472 of the 2008 Regular Session May 15, 2009 is the due date for personal financial disclosure reports for 2008. Reports are due annually thereafter. Trustees of state, statewide, and local systems are required to file. Disclosure for trustees is pursuant to Tier 2.1. 7

8. Financial Disclosure for TrusteesAct 472 of the 2008 Regular Session Tier 2.1 disclosure requires the following for a board member & spouse: itemization of income from the state, political subdivisions, and gaming interests; reporting of employment, business interests held, and associations with non-profits; certification that taxes have been filed; & certification that no conflict of interest for board members or immediate family exists. 8

9. Disclosure by Retirement System VendorsR.S. 42:1114.2 Persons who have or who are seeking to obtain a business or financial relationship with a state or statewide retirement system and who spend $500 or more in a calendar year must: file semiannual reports; list the name of a retirement system official on whom the person spent more than $50 on one occasion or more than $250 during the six-month reporting period. For this report, �expenditure� includes promotional items, food, drink, refreshment, transportation, and entertainment for a retirement official. 9

10. Executive Branch Lobbyist DisclosureR.S. 49:76 and Acts 164 and 769 of the 2008 Regular Session A �lobbyist� is any person who acts in a representative capacity and makes an expenditure. Change in definition eliminates the distinction drawn in Board Opinion No. 2007-669 about employees of consultants or managers who perform �professional services.� Elected or appointed public officials, or designees of such officials, are not considered executive branch lobbyists when acting in the performance of public duties. 10

11. Executive Branch Lobbyist Disclosure (continued) "Lobbying� means any direct act or communication with an executive branch official, the purpose of which is to aid in influencing an executive branch action. "Executive branch official" or "official" means an elected official, an appointed official, or an employee in an executive branch agency. "Executive branch agency� means the state, and any state office, department, board, commission, institution, or any quasi-public entity created in the executive branch of state government. It does not include local government, or any political subdivision of the state. Issue: Are statewide and local systems considered executive branch agencies? 11

12. Executive Branch Lobbyist Disclosure (continued) Until December 31, 2008, an �expenditure� is a gift or payment that exceeds $10 for the purpose of lobbying when the expenditure is accounted for as an ordinary and necessary business expense. As of January 1, 2009, an �expenditure� is: food, drink, or refreshment for an executive branch official; food, drink, or refreshment for the spouse or minor child of the official; admission to civic, non-profit, educational, or political or fundraising events as allowed by Section 1123(13) of the Ethics Code for the purpose of lobbying when the expenditure is accounted for as an ordinary and necessary business expense. 12

13. Executive Branch Lobbyist Disclosure (continued) For expenditures made in 2008: lobbyists must file reports semiannually, the name of an executive branch official on whom the lobbyist spent more than $50 on one occasion or more than $250 during the six-month reporting period must be listed. Expenditures for groups of more than 25 officials or held in conjunction with a meeting of a regional or national organization are not attributed to an individual official. 13

14. Executive Branch Lobbyist Disclosure (continued) Effective January 1, 2009, lobbyists must: electronically file reports on a monthly basis, disclose the aggregate total of all expenditures attributable to an executive branch official, disclose the aggregate amount of expenditures attributable to the spouse or minor child of the official. (The name of the spouse or minor child is not disclosed.) Expenditures for groups of more than 25 officials or held in conjunction with a meeting of a regional or national organization are not attributed to an individual official. 14