Democrat unveils legislation outlawing ‘gratuities’ to state, local officials

Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley (Ore.) unveiled a piece of legislation Wednesday that would outlaw state and local officials from accepting “gratuities” for official acts. The bill, titled the “Stop Corrupt Gratuities Act,” follows the Supreme Court’s Snyder v. United States ruling earlier this year, which narrowed the scope of what can be considered an illegal…