Good gift rule

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Commentary: Perdue makes smart move on gifts

Gov. Beverly Perdue kept it simple, as it should be. An order issued Thursday bans all employees in her administration from accepting food or gifts from companies doing business with the state. This policy should have been in place long ago, but give the governor credit for a quick response to embarrassing reports in The News & Observer about employees of the Division of Motor Vehicles bellying up to a trough provided by Verizon Business, which has a $51.5 million, no-bid contract to provide computers and services for the state's vehicle inspection program.

Now Perdue says she'll ask legislators to make the ban apply to agencies outside the purview of the governor, such as the Department of Agriculture, the Labor Department and others. Those agencies are run by independently elected officials, so Perdue's order, for now, covers only those in executive departments under her. A state ethics law bans gifts for higher-ranking officials, but doesn't speak to those in lower-level positions, many of whom can have

Perdue tightens rules on gifts

CORRECTION: An Internet link to a list of state employees that Verizon Business says it gave gifts to incorrectly suggested inappropriate behavior by those on the list. The list, provided by Verizon Business, is part of an ongoing probe into whether any state employee accepted the gifts or meals in violation of state law.

Gov. Beverly Perdue signed an order Thursday banning all employees in her administration from accepting food or gifts from companies doing business with the state, even if the employees aren't directly responsible for administering government contracts.

The move comes after reports that the SBI is investigating whether employees at the state Division of Motor Vehicles and Division of Air Quality broke the law in accepting meals and gifts on more than 200 occasions from Verizon Business. The company holds a $51.5 million no-bid contract providing computers and data services to the state's vehicle inspections program.

Some state workers had gift bans all along

When Gov. Beverly Perdue signed an executive order banning state employees from taking food or gifts from companies doing business with the state, it didn't apply to all state employees.

The ban applied only to those employees who work in Cabinet agencies that report to Perdue. That does not include employees in agencies such as the departments of Justice, Insurance and Agriculture that are run by independently elected officials.

Officials with some of those departments said they already have similar rules for their employees. Officials at the departments of Agriculture and Labor said they intend to follow Perdue's lead.

Last supper

Government work may not lead to riches, but in the case of some state Division of Motor Vehicles workers, it can be said that they never went hungry. At least, not when the good folks at Verizon Business, who hold a lucrative no-bid contract with the state for computers for the eSticker vehicle inspection program, were picking up the tab.

Goodness was indeed gracious courtesy of Verizon, whose sales people on 200 occasions over the last four years provided meals and gifts to DMV officials and those from the N.C. Division of Air Quality and the state Department of Transportation.

They weren't going on the cheap, either. Among the places where those state officials bellied up were The Angus Barn, Sullivan's steakhouse, 42nd Street Oyster Bar and the Capital City Chop House. That's good eatin'. In June of last year, days after the DMV awarded a contract extension to Verizon's no-bid deal, the company hosted 15 state employees at the Chop House, where the tab ran to $1,021.18.

New rule bans gifts to all state employees

Gov. Beverly Perdue today signed an executive order extending the state’s gift ban to all state employees in agencies under her control.

“This executive order makes it clear those of us who serve the people of North Carolina must be held to the highest ethical standards and act accordingly,” Perdue said in a prepared statement. “Citizens expect and deserve nothing less.”

The order follows stories this week in The News & obsever and The Charlotte Observer about employees of the state Division of Motor Vehicles and other agencies accepting $21,800 in freebies, such as pricey dinners, a hockey ticket and a spa visit, from representatives of Verizon since 2006. The communications company won a $51.5 million, no-bid contract last year to provide computer services and technical support to the state's vehicle inspections program.