Law banning accepting gifts makes Florida congressman ‘half laugh and cry’

In early December, each member of the Florida House of Representatives received an early Christmas gift bag from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, including a bluetooth speaker, a Yeti thermos with “Go Outdoors Florida” printed on it, and a small blanket with the Florida logo.

But at the end of the day, staff at the Office of the Chief Justice of the Florida House of Representatives had to knock on each congressman’s door to retrieve the gift bags, because they could be considered a violation of a law enacted 20 years ago.

This law, effective January 1, 2006, prohibits congressmen and those holding high positions in Florida state government from receiving any valuable benefits from lobbyists or organizations that employ them. Lobbyists are also required to disclose the amount of money they receive from their employers.

The law was passed by the Florida parliament after a series of incidents exposed by the press at that time, such as a state senator pressuring lobbyists to pay for a trip to South Africa, the situation of many lawmakers regularly calling campaign parties, asking for credit card numbers to pay for meals, or the fact that a gambling company hired a plane to take 4 lawmakers to a casino in Canada.

At the time it was enacted, this was considered one of the strictest “no gift accepting” laws in the United States. It many times puts parliamentarians in a situation of “laughing and crying”, making it difficult for them to even accept small gifts like a bottle of water.

Tom Lee, former president of the Florida Senate, husband of Congressman Laurel Lee, who pushed for the law, said that this is a strict but correct regulation.

“It is very difficult to describe to the public the picture of Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, in the 1990s and early 2000s, which was no different from Sodom and Gomorrah, two famous fallen cities in the Bible,” Mr. Lee said. “At that time, many parliamentarians practically lived off money from lobbyists. Violations were widespread, almost the norm, not the exception.”

Over time, however, the ban on accepting gifts has in fact been ignored or circumvented in various ways, while more and more people are skeptical about its ability to limit group interests.

Mark Herron, a veteran ethics and elections lawyer in Tallahassee, said the law prohibiting accepting gifts has made it more difficult for lawmakers to socialize, while also motivating interest groups and lobbyists to pour money into loosely managed political committees that pay lawmakers.

“Before the law banning gifts, lobbyists could build relationships with congressmen through eating together. After the law, relationships became more ‘transactional’, revolving around contributions to political committees and the congressman’s election campaign,” Mr. Herron explained.

The law also faced backlash from Tallahassee restaurant owners, who said the regulation stifled their revenue. However, all efforts to adjust the law have so far made no progress.

Some lobbyists in Tallahassee declined to discuss the law banning gifts, or how they interact with lawmakers.

Whether Governor Ron DeSantis complied with the law banning accepting gifts was also questioned throughout his term. In 2024, Florida’s ethics commission dismissed a complaint related to a $28,000 golf simulator, which real estate businessman Mori Hosseini sent to governor DeSantis’ mansion in 2019.

The commission concluded that the golf machine was not a gift and belonged to the state, because it was located in the gym in the mansion’s annex.

Meanwhile, MPs can still “receive gifts” by participating in sponsored events, as long as the costs are covered by their political committee. These events are organized as fundraising activities, so payments or incentives to parliamentarians are still considered valid.

Campaign finance records show that in 2025 alone, Walt Disney theme parks contributed nearly $800,000 in the form of dining, entertainment and lodging to political organizations, including the Florida Republican Party and the leadership funds of both parties in the Florida Senate.

Universal, which operates theme parks in the central state, made similar expenditures this year, with $450,000 for lodging, admission, and meals.

Even though the law banning accepting gifts has such loopholes, Senator Don Gaetz, Chairman of the Florida Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, still calls this “a good law.”

“I support the ban on accepting gifts, because I don’t want to feel indebted to anyone for their generosity,” Mr. Gaetz said. Recently, he returned fruit baskets sent to his office. “If the rules are relaxed, things will go downhill very quickly.”