Teachers can receive gifts of $25 or less

That's according to an amendment that the Alabama Legislature passed early this month to a new statewide ethics law that had caused some confusion over gift-giving for the Christmas holidays. The law had stated that any gift to a public employee or official -- not just a teacher -- had to be of "de minimis," or little, value. But the law did not give a specific dollar amount.

The Alabama Ethics Commission was asked last fall to set a dollar figure, but said that wasn’t its role to do so. Instead, the commission issued a 26-page opinion detailing the types of gifts that could be given, such homemade cookies, school supplies, a CD or a scarf. Gift cards could only be given by individual students if the funds were to benefit the classroom. And if the local school board allowed, classes of students could pool together to give a teacher cash or a gift card.

The new amendment -- established with a 91-0 vote in the House of Representatives and a 21-4 vote in the Senate -- now defines "de minimis" as a gift from an individual costing less than $25, and gifts not to exceed a total of $50 for a full calendar year. It states that the amount will be increased every four years based on cost of living."There were a lot of questions last year," said Rep. Jay Love, R-Montgomery, who sponsored the amendment. "So we wanted to go in and put a reasonable limit on it."