MOST STATE LAWMAKERS ACCEPT GIFTS, SOME REFUSE.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

SACRAMENTO - Assembly members Jackie Goldberg and Rod Wright have opposing positions on accepting gifts from groups that lobby at the Capitol, and they're not shy about stating them.

``We appreciate your generosity. However, we do not accept gifts,'' says a sign on the door of Goldberg's Capitol office.

A floor above, a sign on Wright's door tells visitors: ``We appreciate the generosity of all gifts brought to this office. We will gladly accept all gifts we can legally receive that other members refuse.''

Although there are limits on the value of gifts lawmakers and other elected officials can receive from most sources, there's still a debate about the propriety of taking free event tickets, meals, trips or other freebies.

Goldberg, a Los Angeles Democrat, adopted a no-gifts policy to avoid any concern among her constituents that the gifts might influence her. The Legislature as a whole would be better off if it took the same stance, she says.

``I don't think it's a matter of corruption, but I think public perception would be better and perception is important,'' she said.

Wright, another Los Angeles Democrat, refused to talk about his position on gifts. ``The sign speaks for itself,'' he said.

But Assemblyman Bill Leonard, R-Rancho Cucamonga, says he doubts that accepting gifts creates an appearance problem for lawmakers or influences votes.

``A lot of the gifts are in the context of a reception or some other social occasion,'' he said. ``I want to meet as many people as I can and in the process I receive a gift, which I report.''

Lawmakers received gifts worth a total of $211,041 last year, ranging from boxes of candy to trips to Japan and China. Also in the mix were free meals and tickets to sporting events, Disneyland, the Academy Awards and concerts.

Frequently the giver was a group that lobbies on legislation.

Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, reported gifts and travel payments of $4,285.95. Of that total, $2,800 was for a trip to Japan last April with other lawmakers, sponsored by The Japan Society of Northern California.

That journey was a fact-finding trip with a delegation of California government representatives, including state Education Secretary Kerry Mazzoni, and private-sector officials, Runner's staff said. During the trip, the delegation visited Japanese schools and met with trade and business officials.

State Sen. W.J. ``Pete'' Knight, R-Palmdale, reported a total of $240 in gifts. That was from two events, a dinner sponsored by the California Manufacturers and Technology Association in August and a dinner and a cruise sponsored by the California Newspaper Publishers Association in February.

The average gift total was $1,758. Fourteen other lawmakers joined Goldberg and Gov. Gray Davis in reporting they accepted no gifts.

Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, got perhaps the most unusual gift: $700 worth of high-efficiency light bulbs from Home Depot. She gave them to constituents during last year's energy crisis.

The flow of gifts to lawmakers is nowhere near what it used to be. A measure approved by California voters in 1974 put a $10-per-month limit on the amount a lobbyist can spend on an elected official.

In 1990, lawmakers and voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring limits on gifts from most other sources. Currently the limit is $320 a year. Exceptions to the limit include travel paid for by government agencies and nonprofit groups.

That ``travel loophole'' is the biggest concern, says Jim Knox, executive director of California Common Cause, a political reform group.

``That is really the most egregious problem, the fact that interests can underwrite these expensive junkets to far-off lands and then essentially have their lobbyists accompany legislators and get that level of access,'' he said.

``The other gifts, the (sports) tickets and the candy and calendars, it's troublesome and we would certainly rather see no gifts as a (couple) of states have done, but I don't think it's a huge problem.''

Assemblyman Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, says he tries to shun most gifts but the offers of the travel to other countries can be of value to legislators in dealing with foreign trade and other issues.

``I think there's a difference between sitting on a beach in Barbados and sitting in 100-degree temperatures in Armenia talking about a trade agreement with the foreign minister,'' he said.

Simitian was among lawmakers who went to China and Armenia last year.

The six-day trip to Armenia was paid for by the Armenian Assembly of America. The cost of the 10-day trip to China was covered by the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy.

The foundation, which is partly funded by dues paid by utilities and other corporate members, is a neutral public policy forum that tries to build agreements among labor, businesses, environmentalists and public officials, said its president, Patrick Mason.

The China trip involved a half-dozen legislators and helped those lawmakers familiarize themselves with energy issues and pollution problems, Mason said.

``Quite frankly, in China we learned a lot of things that did not work (in controlling pollution),'' he said. ``The leading cause of death in China is complications resulting from air pollution. They've got a lot to do.''