Georgia’s lobbyist gift ban is in the news. 

Gov. Sonny Perdue signed an executive order on his first day in office in 2003 declaring he and most state workers wouldn’t take any gifts worth more than $25 from lobbyists.

But last year he accepted a flight to Jacksonville for the Georgia-Florida football game from a lobbyist for CSX Transportation, Atlanta Falcons tickets from his former chief of staff who is now a prominent lobbyist, and refreshments at the Republican National Convention from a lobbyist for AT&T, according to reports filed with the State Ethics Commission.

…

How can Perdue do that? A loophole in the executive order that allows gifts to be accepted “for purposes of tradition, ceremony, or inter-governmental relations, or when acting as a representative of the Office of the Governor.”