SALEM - Acting quickly to repair its tarnished image, the Oregon House has adopted some of the nation's toughest ethics rules to forbid its members from accepting gifts worth any more than a T-shirt or a coffee mug.

The new rules, approved on the opening day of the 2007 Legislature, stem from an outcry following disclosures that a group of legislators took lobbyist-paid trips to Hawaii, Israel and China, then failed to report them.

Half-a-dozen states currently prohibit legislators from accepting major gifts, including travel, meals and entertainment.

The new rules, passed 56-4 Monday, limit House members from accepting gifts worth more than $10 and require that legislators pay their own way for meals and entertainment when they are out with lobbyists.

“Adopting these rules right off the bat sends a message that gifts serve no public purpose and really shouldn't be a part of the lawmaking culture or process,” said House Speaker Jeff Merkley, D-Portland.

The move reflects a trend among states and Congress to reform ethics laws and one that observers expect to increase as legislative sessions get under way across the country.

“I suspect there will be a large number of states that will look at their ethics laws,” said Peggy Kerns, director of the ethics center at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Last week, Oregon's Government Standards and Practices Commission decided to begin formal investigations into nine current and former lawmakers who accepted, but did not report, expensive lobbyist-paid trips to Hawaii, China and Israel.

Seven of the legislators visited Hawaii on trips that were paid for by beer and wine distributors that paid $18,000 for airfare, food, accommodations and golfing.

All of the lawmakers currently under investigation voted for the new rules.

An earlier proposal by Republicans calling for a “zero gift” policy was rejected Monday after the majority Democrats said a total ban would be unworkable because it wouldn't allow lawmakers to accept gifts like homemade apple pie and artwork from school children.

Bruce Bishop, president of the lobbyist organization at Oregon's State Capitol, said the new House rules would certainly change the way some lobbyists do business.

“Legislators have only a limited amount of time,” he said. “They have to eat sometime.”

But the new rules prohibit lobbyists from paying for “private meals at a restaurant or catering by a restaurant.” They do allow lobbyists to buy “snacks” for lawmakers that cost under $10, but there's some question on what qualifies as a snack.

“I think we could have been asked what we thought would be a reasonable regulation,” Bishop said. “That didn't happen.”

The Senate, meanwhile, endorsed another “good government” rule Monday to have the Legislature meet in annual sessions - a move sponsors say would promote efficiency and cut down on partisan bickering. The Legislature now meets every other year, instead of annually, as in 44 other states.

Backers of annual sessions say Oregon's current system, dating back to statehood, no longer effectively serves the state's needs. They say that having annual sessions, with limits on how long they could last will prevent runaway sessions that drag well into the summer months.

Under the measure, which still has to be considered by the House, the Legislature would have to conclude this session by June 29, then meet again in February of 2008, for a monthlong session devoted mainly to budget-related issues.