Ethics Commission sued over gift rules

A nonprofit organization is complaining it can’t give a $15 book to state government officials because of “unconstitutional” state ethics rules.

The Institute for Justice on Monday filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.

The institute is asking U.S. District Judge Timothy DeGiusti to find state gift-giving restrictions do not apply to informational materials. It alleges its First Amendment right to free speech is being violated.

Over the last few years, the Ethics Commission has imposed stricter rules on what lobbyists and the organizations they represent can give to lawmakers and other state officials. It recently banned the giving of birthday gifts, because the practice was regularly being abused.

Under the current rules, the Institute of Justice could give a book to a state government official in recognition of a special occasion like election to office if the book costs $100 or less.

The institute also could give a state official a $10 book once a year.

Ethics rules allow a lobbyist to give an official a desk calendar, a paper weight, a small box of candy or other such memento one time a year so long as the value is $10 or less.

In light of those limitations, it is “effectively impossible” for the nonprofit organization to distribute a copy of the book, the institute’s attorneys told the judge.

“If Oklahoma’s Ethics Rules do not consider that providing a government officer $100 as a wedding gift, $500 in upscale dinners and thousands of dollars in tickets to charity galas raise a meaningful corruption concern, there is no reason why the general distribution of a $15 book should raise such a concern either,” the attorneys also told the judge.

The Institute for Justice is based in Arlington, Virginia, and was founded in 1991. It regularly sues on behalf of citizens against government regulations and actions.

Its 2014 lawsuit against a civil forfeiture program in Philadelphia resulted this month in an agreement to pay out $3 million to people who had property seized.

In Oklahoma, it has lobbied for civil forfeiture reform and for a bill to deregulate hair braiding. It also has filed lawsuits before. In 2001, it challenged state restrictions on casket sales.

It told the judge it wants to donate to state officials the 2016 book, “Bottleneckers: Gaming the Government for Power and Private Profit,” to educate them.

The lawsuit was filed in Oklahoma City federal court. The Ethics Commission plans to respond in court and declined to issue a statement Tuesday.