§ 2634.105 - Definitions.

§ 2634.105 Definitions.

For purposes of this part:

(a) Act means the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-521), as amended), as modifed modified by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (Pub. L. 101-194), as amended).

(b) Agency means any executive agency as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105 (any executive department, Government corporation, or independent establishment in the executive branch), any military department as defined in 5 U.S.C. 102, and the Postal Service and the Postal Rate Regulatory Commission. It does not include the General Accounting Government Accountability Office.

(c) Confidential filer. For the definition of “confidential filer,” see § 2634.904.

(d) Dependent child means, when used with respect to any reporting individual, any individual who is a son, daughter, stepson, or stepdaughter and who:

(1) Is unmarried, under age 21, and living in the household of the reporting individual; or

(2) Is a dependent of the reporting individual within the meaning of section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, see 26 U.S.C. 152.

(e) Designated agency ethics official means the primary officer or employee who is designated by the head of an agency to administer the provisions of title I of the Act and this part within an agency, and in his the designated agency ethics official's absence the alternate who is designated by the head of the agency. The term also includes a delegate of such an official, unless otherwise indicated. See subpart B of part 2638 of this chapter on the appointment and additional responsibilities of a designated agency ethics official and alternate.

(f) Executive branch means any agency as defined in paragraph (b) of this section and any other entity or administrative unit in the executive branch.

(g) Filer is used interchangeably with “reporting individual,” and may refer to a “confidential filer” as defined in paragraph (c) of this section, a “public filer” as defined in paragraph (m) of this section, or a nominee or candidate as described in § 2634.201.

(h) Gift means a payment, advance, forbearance, rendering, or free attendance at an event, deposit of money, or anything of value, unless consideration of equal or greater value is received by the donor, but does not include:

(1) Bequests and other forms of inheritance;

(2) Suitable mementos of a function honoring the reporting individual;

(3) Food, lodging, transportation, and entertainment provided by a foreign government within a foreign country or by the United States Government, the District of Columbia, or a State or local government or political subdivision thereof;

(4) Food and beverages which , unless they are not consumed in connection with a gift of overnight lodging;

(5) Communications to the offices of a reporting individual, including subscriptions to newspapers and periodicals;

(6) Consumable products provided by home-State state businesses to the offices of the President or Vice President, if those products are intended for consumption by persons other than the President or Vice President; or

(7) Exclusions and exceptions as described at § 2634.304(c) and (d).

(i) Honorarium means a payment of money or anything of value for an appearance, speech, or article.

(j) Income means all income from whatever source derived. It includes but is not limited to the following items: earned Earned income such as compensation for services, fees, commissions, salaries, wages, and similar items; gross income derived from business (and net income if the individual elects to include it); gains derived from dealings in property including capital gains; interest; rents; royalties; dividends; annuities; income from the investment portion of life insurance and endowment contracts; pensions; income from discharge of indebtedness; distributive share of partnership income; and income from an interest in an estate or trust. The term includes all income items, regardless of whether they are taxable for Federal income tax purposes, such as interest on municipal bonds. Generally, income means “gross income” as determined in conformity with the Internal Revenue Service principles at 26 CFR 1.61-1 through 1.61-15 and 1.61-21.

(k) Personal hospitality of any individual means hospitality extended for a nonbusiness purpose by an individual, not a corporation or organization, at the personal residence of or on property or facilities owned by that individual or his the individual's family.

(l) Personal residence means any real property used exclusively as a private dwelling by the reporting individual or his spouse, which is not rented out during any portion of the reporting period. The term is not limited to one's domicile; there may be more than one personal residence, including a vacation home.

(m) Public filer. For the definition of “public filer,” see § 2634.202.

(n) Reimbursement means any payment or other thing of value received by the reporting individual (other than gifts, as defined in paragraph (h) of this section) to cover travel-related expenses of such individual, other than those which are:

(1) Provided by the United States Government, the District of Columbia, or a State or local government or political subdivision thereof;

(2) Required to be reported by the reporting individual under 5 U.S.C. 7342 (the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act); or

(3) Required to be reported under section 304 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 52 U.S.C. 43430104) (relating to reports of campaign contributions).

Note to paragraph (n):

Payments which are not made to the individual are not reimbursements for purposes of this part. Thus, payments made to the filer's employing agency to cover official travel-related expenses do not fit this definition of reimbursement. For example, payments being accepted by the agency pursuant to statutory authority such as 31 U.S.C. 1353, as implemented by 41 CFR part 304-1, are not considered reimbursements under this part 2634, because they are not payments received by the reporting individual. On the other hand, travel payments made to the employee by an outside entity for private travel are considered reimbursements for purposes of this part. Likewise, travel payments received from certain nonprofit entities under authority of 5 U.S.C. 4111 are considered reimbursements, even though for official travel, since that statute specifies that such payments must be made to the individual directly (with prior approval from the individual's agency).

(o) Relative means an individual who is related to the reporting individual, as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, great uncle, great aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, or who is the grandfather or grandmother of the spouse of the reporting individual, and shall will be deemed to include the fiance fiancé or fiancee fiancée of the reporting individual.

(p) Reporting individual is used interchangeably with “filer,” and may refer to a “confidential filer” as defined in § 2634.904, a “public filer” as defined in § 2634.202, or a nominee or candidate as described in § 2634.201(c) and (d).

(q) Reviewing official means the designated agency ethics official or his the delegate, the Secretary concerned, the head of the agency, or the Director of the Office of Government Ethics.

(r) Secretary concerned has the meaning set forth in 10 U.S.C. 101(8a)(9) (relating to the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and for certain Coast Guard matters, the Secretary of TransportationHomeland Security); and, in addition, means:

(1) The Secretary of Commerce, in matters concerning the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;

(2) The Secretary of Health and Human Services, with respect to matters concerning the Public Health Service; and

(3) The Secretary of State with respect to matters concerning the Foreign Service.

(s) Special Government employee has the meaning given to that term by the first sentence of 18 U.S.C. 202(a): an An officer or employee of an agency who is retained, designated, appointed, or employed to perform temporary duties, with or without compensation, for not to exceed 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days, either on a full-time or intermittent basis.

(t) STOCK Act means the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (Pub. L. 112-105), as amended.

(u) Value means a good faith estimate of the fair market value if the exact value is neither known nor easily obtainable by the reporting individual without undue hardship or expense. In the case of any interest in property, see the alternative valuation options in § 2634.301(e). For gifts and reimbursements, see § 2634.304(e).

[57 FR 11804, Apr. 7, 1992; 57 FR 21854, May 22, 1992; 62 FR 48747, Sept. 17, 1997; 63 FR 69992, Dec. 18, 1998]