Ethics worries to dampen convention frolics

Adding to the complexity, state ethics rules also come into play. If a corporation or trade association has an event where state office holders are invited, the ethics rules of each of their states must be followed.

“Everyone is tearing out their hair because they don’t want to make a mistake,” said Carolyn Peachey, a Washington events planner who is organizing parties at both conventions. “There is page after page after page of what you can and cannot do. People want to be careful.”

Navigating the rules was no simple matter for Medtronic, a medical technology company in Minneapolis that is making its first foray into convention entertaining. The company first contacted its in-house lawyer, then consulted an outside legal expert to put on an event that would comply with the law yet still provide fun and sizzle.

The idea was to hold a reception at the company headquarters after the first night of the convention for five delegations from states where Medtronic does business.

To comply with the Congressional ban on meals, the company settled on an event with “small-plate finger food” where guests would stand and mingle rather than sit, said Ron Clark, a company spokesman.

In addition, Medtronic has to follow the ethics laws of the five states whose delegations were invited. In the case of one state, the ethics laws were so complicated that the company decided not to invite that delegation.

“I’m not going to mention the name of the state, but some states that we could have invited, we did not,” Mr. Clark said. “We constructed an event that we think passes muster.”

Paying for entertainment
Medtronic also decided to offer entertainment: Hot on Broadway, a touring company of “Jersey Boys,” the Tony Award-winning musical. But to avoid violating the prohibition on gifts of entertainment, Medtronic will charge members of Congress $35 to hear the nostalgic revue.

“We made a decision that members of Congress have to pay a fair market rate for the entertainment,” Mr. Clark said. “But they also seem familiar with the rules, so they won’t be insulted or find it a surprise.”

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At Tamayo, a Mexican restaurant in Denver that has been hired for 16 events, Amanda Burk, its head of private parties, said a simple formula was adopted: no forks and no chairs.

Most of the regular tables are being removed, to be replaced by tall cocktail tables. The convention menu will include finger food like mini empanadas, mini sopaipillas and sushi, something that Ms. Burk admits is “outside our normal menu” but fits within the rules.

“We’re trying to comply with the law and still make sure that people get enough to eat,” she said.

Peggy Beck, who runs the Denver catering firm Three Tomatoes, said she had two cancellations, including a major party from a lobbying firm that was to have featured Crosby, Stills and Nash.

“The lobbying group just got cold feet,” Ms. Beck said. “There were so many rules, they canceled. Having no plated meals and all that just puts the kibosh on things.”

This article, Ethics Thicket for Convention Parties Crimps Events, first appeared in The New York Times.

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