FROM: Councilmember Cohen
Vice Mayor Foley
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW
DATE: August 20, 2025
Approved: Date: 8/19/2025
RULES COMMITTEE : 8/27/2025
ITEM:
SUBJECT: MODIFYING SJMC 12.08.030(a) - GIFT LIMITS
RECOMMENDATION:
Amend San Jose Municipal Code 12.08.030(a) to increase the gift limit $50 to $200 from a single source in a calendar year.
BACKGROUND
The gift limit of $50 has been in place since 2004 without increasing. That’s why staff brought forward a recommendation in 2024 to increase the gift limit to match with the state level, which is currently $630. While there would be value in tying to the state and therefore having automatic escalators, the Council did not have the appetite for such a large increase. The gift limit was also recommended to be changed in 2015 by the Mayor’s Biannual Ethics Review and Recommendations to better align with the state and reduce the confusion.
The current low gift limit requires council offices to spend taxpayer dollars to attend networking events that are an important part of our jobs. Therefore, we recommend the more modest increase proposed here in order to better align with the cost of ticketed events in the city.
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