San Jose leaders approve higher limit for gifts

San Jose elected leaders are increasing how much they can accept in gifts from business and labor interests — arguing it will save taxpayers money.

The City Council on Tuesday voted 8-2, with Councilmember Peter Ortiz and Mayor Matt Mahan voting no, to raise its gift limits from $50 to $200, which equates to a higher number of free meals or tickets they can receive at networking luncheons, business conferences and nonprofit celebrations. But the council majority agreed to keep the $50 limit in place for gifts from registered lobbyists.

Councilmembers argue the current limits force them to pay out of their taxpayer-funded council office budgets, as the cumulative value of ticketed events they attend can exceed $50.

“Many of us attend the Chamber of Commerce barbecue. The South Bay Labor Council holds an annual event,” Councilmember David Cohen told San José Spotlight. “It makes a lot of sense for us to attend events like that, but it doesn’t make sense to use taxpayer dollars to go to these events, which we could be spending on other things in the community.”

Sean McMorris, a leading political transparency expert with California Common Cause, said the proposed $200 ceiling is not unreasonable. But he questions the urgency of using public funds for networking events.

“Elected government officials do not have to use taxpayer money to attend business luncheons, nonprofit celebrations and other networking events,” McMorris told San José Spotlight. “They could pay to attend such events out of their own pocket, and if the purpose for attending is related to campaigning, then they may be able to use campaign funds.”

The $50 gift limit has been in place since 2004. City staff in 2017 initially recommended councilmembers match their gift limits with the state, which currently sits at $630 and automatically increases.

“The council was uncomfortable. They weren’t ready to get to that level,” Cohen said. “The $200 limit allows us to do events and not have some outrageous level of gifts we can accept.”
McMorris said San Jose’s policy is decent, but suggests the city add a provision specifically outlining further gift restrictions from lobbyists. California’s Political Reform Act bars elected state officials from accepting gifts from lobbyists worth more than $10.

At the Tuesday meeting, Councilmember Rosemary Kamei made a motion to incorporate McMorris’ recommendation into the vote.

“Obviously lobbyists are a different category,” Kamei said.

San José Spotlight previously uncovered how lobbyists with powerful clients in the heart of Silicon Valley often meet with officials without fully disclosing what’s discussed — even after these issues were made public.

“I think it would be beneficial for at least a very low gift limit, for example prohibiting lobbyists from giving gifts of more than $10 per month,” McMorris said. “It is a decent law. I just don’t see anything specifically for lobbyists.”

Story updated Sept. 9  at 2:55 p.m. Original story published Sept. 5 at 2:30 p.m.

Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.