Secretary of State Elaine Marshall will extend Gov. Beverly Perdue's ban on gifts to the Secretary of State's office.

Perdue's gift ban, which applied to employees in her administration, came after revelations that Verizon Business plied state employees with dinners and gifts. The company has a $51.5 million, no-bid contract with the state.

Marshall said in a statement Monday that her office already bans gifts in certain circumstances. She praised Perdue's order, which is a sweeping ban on gifts to employees.

"The people of North Carolina deserve to know that their state government is operating in unison to reject gifts from those seeking to do business with the state, as well as gifts that could even create any appearance of conflict of interest."

The N.C. Department of Justice is reviewing its gift rules.

"We're currently reviewing our policies to see what additions need to be made," Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Roy Cooper, said in an e-mail.

Talley said many of the department's employees, particularly lawyers, already have to abide by professional ethics rules.

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger says that state employees will remain ethical if the consequence for breaches is a loss of their pensions.

Berger, an Eden Republican, said in a news release Friday that he intends to introduce a bill that would do just that. Berger issued his release the day after Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat, banned gifts to state employees in her administration.

Berger said public corruption is a consequence of the fact that Democrats have dominated state politics for years. Berger, who is helping lead a Republican charge to win legislative seats, took pains not to offend state employees with his pitch.

"I plan to introduce legislation requiring any state employee convicted of taking illegal gifts or other corruption related charges to forfeit their pension, just like elected officials.  99.9 percent of state employees are working hard for the people of this state and they do not deserve to have their reputations ruined by the few who are not doing the right thing," Berger said.

State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler doesn't want department employees taking gifts from contractors, either.

The agriculture department intends to "comply with the spirit and intent" of the executive order Gov. Beverly Perdue signed Thursday, said Brian Long, a department spokesman.

The department is going to tell employees not to take gifts, but some of the details Perdue laid out in her order, such as getting everyone to certify in writing that they know about the ban, may present logistical problems and take time to accomplish, Long said.

"The intent of the order is certainly something we're going to comply with," Long said. "Certainly, we should not be taking gifts."

The state Department of Insurance applied the state's ethics law to its employees.

Department spokeswoman Kristin Milam said the department would not be changing its policy on gifts in the wake of Gov. Beverly Perdue's executive order banning gifts for all employees in her administration. 

The insurance department policy, first adopted in 1985 and revised in 2008, prohibits gifts to employees from anyone who might want something from the state, even if the gift is just mean to build good will.

No employee shall knowingly accept a gift or anything of value, directly or indirectly, from a lobbyist or lobbyist principal. For the purposes of this Policy, the term "lobbying" shall mean any of the following:

(1) Influencing or attempting to influence legislative or executive action, or both, through direct communication or activities with a designated individual or that person's immediate family.

(2) Developing goodwill through communications or activities, including the building of relationships, with a designated individual or that person's immediate family with the intention of influencing current or future legislative or executive action, or both.

The term "lobbying" does not include communications or activities as part of a business, civic, religious, fraternal, personal, or commercial relationship which is not connected to legislative or executive action, or both.

Update: Post now clarifies when the policy was enacted. 

Employees with the state Department of Public Instruction have lived under a gift ban for more then 20 years.

Department employees, State Board of Education members, and members of its committees are not allowed to take meals, gifts, or trips from companies that would provide equipment, books, or services to the state education agency or local school boards.

The state board adopted the standards of conduct first in 1988 and modified it in 1998.

The policy says board members and those in its orbit cannot "solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, meals, travel, lodging, any other items of value, any favor or reward, or any promise of favor or reward from any person, group, association, organization or corporation" that has a contract for services or materials, would be expected to seek a contract or financial relationship with DPI or local school boards, or is subject to DPI regulation or control.

Employees and board members can take free trips and meals if they're connected to education meetings and seminars sponsored by public agencies and associations.

The State Auditor's Office has had a long-standing ban on gifts to auditors.

The policy extends to all employees of the office and precludes all but a few narrow exceptions for nominal, token items that could arise out of a speech or service on a board. Gov. Beverly Perdue's executive order bans gifts to all state employees in her administration

The ban specifically precludes gifts from anyone associated with agencies or entities that are audited by the office, said Dennis Patterson, a spokesman for Auditor Beth Wood. Even a small gift to an auditor would be enough to have an audit re-assigned, he said.

"Our folks are pretty tight on it," Patterson said. "The whole idea of being an auditor is you are a totally independent third party...and I can tell you they take it very seriously."

The office also extends the state's ethics law to senior managers who might not have otherwise been covered by the law. Patterson said the office is unlikely to change its policy in light of Perdue's order.

In honor of Boxing Day, Dome is looking at what you can give state workers.

Under a policy jointly adopted by the state House and Senate earlier this month, legislative employees may receive some gifts from legislators, other employees and members of the public. (Lobbyists, lobbyist principals and legislative liaisons are not allowed to give.)

On Dec. 12, the Legislative Services Commission "expressly approved" the following:

* Food or beverages worth no more than $35 "on an occasional basis."

* Gift cards or other presents—but not money or anything solicited—given "in appreciation of the legislative employee's work."

* Unsolicited gifts given for a special occasion, such as a "birthday, wedding, birth or adoption of a child, retirement, holiday, or end of session."

* Gifts from anyone with whom they have "a personal relationship" as long as it's unrelated to their work.

In addition, the policy says that state food services workers can receive their "reasonable and customary" tips.