HAR §21-7-4. Invitations to events; protocol purposes

(a) An individual who represents the State for protocol purposes, such as the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, legislator, President of the University of Hawaii, department director or UNOFFICIAL: These searchable/hyperlinked rules are unofficial and provided for convenience only. The official rules are available at https://ethics.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/TITLE21.pdf deputy director, or trustee or administrator of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, may generally accept an unsolicited offer of complimentary attendance to attend an event organized with the principal objective of raising money for or awareness of a charitable organization, provided that: (1) The recipient’s attendance at the event is paid for solely by the charitable organization itself; (2) The non-tax-deductible value of attendance is less than $75, unless the commission finds that the recipient has demonstrated a special need to exceed this limit; (3) The recipient does not accept more than $200 in cumulative non- tax-deductible value in any calendar year, unless the commission finds that the recipient has demonstrated a special need to exceed this limit; (4) The recipient’s attendance at the event serves a state purpose; (5) The event is open to the general public and has been publicized to the general public for at least four weeks in advance of the event; and (6) No reasonable person would conclude that the principal purpose of the event is to influence the state officials in attendance. (b) The commission shall revise the dollar amounts in subsection (a) in January of each even-numbered year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index and shall publicize these values on its website. (c) For purposes of subsection (a), if the total value of the gift meets the reporting requirements of section 84-11.5, HRS, the gift shall be reported and the recipient shall separately report both the non-tax-deductible value of attendance and the tax-deductible portion of the attendance fee on the recipient’s annual gifts disclosure statement. [Eff ] (Auth: HRS §84-31(a)(5)) (Imp: HRS §§84-11, 84-11.5, 84-13)