August 20, 1996
The Office of Government Ethics is issuing a final rule revising the gift exception contained in the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch to permit employees to accept invitations to certain widely attended gatherings from persons other than the sponsors of those events, subject to appropriate limitations, and to clarify that only those events attended by a large number of persons qualify as widely attended gatherings. The rule also permits agency authorization for a guest, other than the employee's spouse, to accompany the employee to a widely attended gathering or to a conference or other event at which the employee is assigned to participate as a speaker, panel participant, or other presenter of information.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1996-08-20/pdf/96-21144.pdf