18-1359. USING PUBLIC POSITION FOR PERSONAL GAIN. (1) No public servant shall:

(a) Without the specific authorization of the governmental entity for which he serves, use public funds or property to obtain a pecuniary benefit for himself.

(b) Solicit, accept or receive a pecuniary benefit as payment for services, advice, assistance or conduct customarily exercised in the course of his official duties. This prohibition shall not include trivial benefits not to exceed a value of fifty dollars ($50.00) incidental to personal, professional or business contacts and involving no substantial risk of undermining official impartiality.

(c) Use or disclose confidential information gained in the course of or by reason of his official position or activities in any manner with the intent to obtain a pecuniary benefit for himself or any other person or entity in whose welfare he is interested or with the intent to harm the governmental entity for which he serves.

(d) Be interested in any contract made by him in his official capacity, or by any body or board of which he is a member, except as provided in section 18-1361, Idaho Code.

(e) Appoint or vote for the appointment of any person related to him by blood or marriage within the second degree, to any clerkship, office, position, employment or duty, when the salary, wages, pay or compensation of such appointee is to be paid out of public funds or fees of office, or appoint or furnish employment to any person whose salary, wages, pay or compensation is to be paid out of public funds or fees of office, and who is related by either blood or marriage within the second degree to any other public servant when such appointment is made on the agreement or promise of such other public servant or any other public servant to appoint or furnish employment to anyone so related to the public servant making or voting for such appointment. Any public servant who pays out of any public funds under his control or who draws or authorizes the drawing of any warrant or authority for the payment out of any public fund of the salary, wages, pay, or compensation of any such ineligible person, knowing him to be ineligible, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided in this chapter.

(f) Unless specifically authorized by another provision of law, commit any act prohibited of members of the legislature or any officer or employee of any branch of the state government by section 67-9230, Idaho Code, violations of which are subject to penalties as provided in section 67-9231, Idaho Code, which prohibition and penalties shall be deemed to extend to all public servants pursuant to the provisions of this section.

(2) No person related to any member of the legislature by blood or marriage within the second degree shall be appointed to any clerkship, office, position, employment or duty within the legislative branch of government or otherwise be employed by the legislative branch of government when the salary, wages, pay or compensation of such appointee or employee is to be paid out of public funds.

(3) No person related to a mayor or member of a city council by blood or marriage within the second degree shall be appointed to any clerkship, office, position, employment or duty with the mayor’s or city council’s city when the salary, wages, pay or compensation of such appointee or employee is to be paid out of public funds.

(4) No person related to a county commissioner by blood or marriage within the second degree shall be appointed to any clerkship, office, position, employment or duty with the commissioner’s county when the salary, wages, pay or compensation of such appointee or employee is to be paid out of public funds.

(5) (a) An employee of a governmental entity holding a position prior to the election of a local government official, who is related within the second degree, shall be entitled to retain his or her position and receive general pay increases, step increases, cost of living increases, and/or other across the board increases in salary or merit increases, benefits and bonuses or promotions.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as creating any property rights in the position held by an employee subject to this section, and all authority in regard to disciplinary action, transfer, dismissal, demotion or termination shall continue to apply to the employee.

(6) The prohibitions contained within this section shall not include conduct defined by the provisions of section 74-403(4), Idaho Code.

(7) The prohibitions within this section and section 18-1356, Idaho Code, as it applies to part-time public servants, do not include those actions or conduct involving the public servant’s business, profession or occupation and unrelated to the public servant’s official conduct, and do not apply to a pecuniary benefit received in the normal course of a legislator’s business, profession or occupation and unrelated to any bill, legislation, proceeding or official transaction.

History:

[18-1359, added 1990, ch. 328, sec. 2, p. 900; am. 1991, ch. 305, sec. 1, p. 800; am. 2002, ch. 304, sec. 1, p. 867; am. 2004, ch. 316, sec. 1, p. 887; am. 2005, ch. 214, sec. 1, p. 684; am. 2015, ch. 141, sec. 15, p. 390; am. 2016, ch. 289, sec. 5, p. 805.]