(a) A commissioner or an alternate commissioner shall not accept, during such commissioner's time of service, any gifts or benefits with a combined value of more than two hundred dollars ($200), other than from a member of such commissioner's immediate family and of the kind customarily granted by such immediate family member.
(b) As used in this section, “gift or benefit” must be construed liberally to include current and future loans, lodging, food, offers of prospective employment, and other actual and prospective benefits; provided, that an employer's decision to continue paying a commissioner's current salary is not a gift.