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H.R. 9688: High Court Gift Ban Act

This bill would create new gift rules for federal judges, including Supreme Court justices and other judicial officers. In general, it would prohibit them from accepting gifts unless the gift is small enough and their total gifts from that same source during the year stay under the bill’s limits.

What counts as a gift

The bill defines “gift” broadly. It includes items of monetary value such as:

gratuities and favors
discounts
entertainment and hospitality
loans and forbearance
transportation, local travel, lodging, and meals

These can be provided directly, through tickets, by prepayment, or by reimbursing the judge after the fact.

Basic gift limits

A judicial officer could only accept a gift if:

they reasonably and in good faith believe the gift is worth less than $50, and
the total value of gifts from that same source during the calendar year is $100 or less, including the current gift.

Exceptions

The bill would allow certain gifts or benefits that are not subject to the general ban, including:

items the judge pays fair market value for
items that are not used and are promptly returned
gifts from relatives
gifts from other judicial officers
honorary degrees and similar bona fide awards from educational institutions, along with related travel, food, and entertainment paid for by the institution
benefits available to the general public or all federal employees
benefits offered to a group or organization open to all judicial officers, in some cases
normal bank loans and similar financial products offered on public terms
reduced membership fees for certain professional organizations when offered to all federal employees
reasonable travel, food, lodging, and entertainment reimbursements for law- or justice-related seminars or events, if specific conditions are met
personal hospitality from a private individual, under a limit tied to the federal gift-tax exclusion amount

Gifts given to relatives

The bill would treat a gift to a judge’s relative as a gift to the judge if the judge knew about and accepted it, and had reason to believe it was given because of the judge’s official position.

Enforcement

If the Judicial Conference, or another designated official for Supreme Court justices, has reasonable cause to believe a judge accepted a prohibited gift, it would have to refer the matter to the Attorney General. The Judicial Conference would also have to notify the relevant judicial council.

The Attorney General could bring a civil case for violations. Knowing and willful violations could also trigger criminal penalties under existing law referenced by the bill.

Implementation

Within 180 days after enactment, the Supreme Court and the Judicial Conference would have to issue regulations to carry out the new rules and make sure they are followed.