The state political watchdog agency is set to consider next month adopting substantial changes to rules governing gifts to public officials and staff, including exemptions from disclosure for presents received from former spouses, dating partners and longtime friends.

The proposed regulations drafted by Fair Political Practices Commission staffers affect what must be disclosed and count toward the $420 annual cap on gifts from an individual source. Registered lobbyists, who are prohibited from giving gifts worth more than $10, and firms or interests that hire lobbyists would not qualify for the exemptions.

In addition to establishing relationship categories to exempt, the proposed amendments would let lawmakers receive without public scrutiny gifts considered "acts of neighborliness" and "acts of human compassion" and update language related to bereavement, birthdays and weddings.

Tickets or event admission received in connection with a "ceremonial role," such as throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game, would not be considered a gift.

FPPC Chair Ann Ravel said the changes are simply meant to clarify the rules and put into regulation current enforcement practices, saying most of the language comes from advice letters generated by the agency.

"The real problem is it's as if there are underground regulations that some people know about, that is political attorneys ... but other people, such as local officials that have to comply," don't, she said.

Ravel said the proposed regulations strive to strike a "balance of the privacy interests vs. where the public needs to know for the purpose of determining whether there is a conflict" when it comes to mandating disclosure.

"There has to be a nexus," she said. "I think that in some of the cases, that nexus can't be shown if it's just total absolute disclosure over every single possible relationship and interest you have."

One good-government group responded to the regulations by saying while clarifying rules already in place is a worthy goal, FPPC officials must be mindful of any changes that would give interest groups more opportunities to exert influence over officials.

"We think it is a dramatic improvement on the old regulations; however we are always suspicious of the ability for political attorneys and elected officials to find loopholes in these regulations," said Phillip Ung, a policy advocate for California Common Cause, which supports banning all gifts to lawmakers from interest groups.

Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, agreed that updating regulations to reflect current practices would be a positive move. But she cautioned that any exemptions "will have to be very specifically defined and interpreted in order to prevent endless haggling over what their exact definition is."

"It's difficult because you're drawing this line and you may either tweak them too much, so that people are going to having to disclose what their niece got them for the holidays, or you're exempting certain gifts that you would want to know something about," she said. "The ultimate question is: Is it giving the public enough information and is it preventing actual, apparent corruption?"

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Call Torey Van Oot, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5544.

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