SAN JOSE — Politicians in San Jose can soon accept gifts up to $470 — nearly a 400 percent increase from what the current city law allows.

Those policy changes, approved by the City Council on a 8-3 vote Tuesday, with Mayor Sam Liccardo, Vice Mayor Magdalena Carrasco and Councilman Donald Rocha opposed, go into effect in July after one more reading.

Newly seated Councilman Lan Diep proposed raising limits to $470 to match state law and eliminating the city’s local rules. Diep’s idea also eliminated a city prohibition against accepting tickets to sports games. Under the changes, San Jose council members can accept tickets to games — as long as it’s under $470.

“If we have a distinct set of rules at the city, we’re basically creating rules for just 11 people,” Diep argued. He said aligning city rules with state law means less confusion, less work for city staff and easier enforcement of the law.

City law had limited elected officials to gifts worth no more than $50 to avoid the appearance that valuable gifts can influence their votes. Under the new rule, the mayor, vice mayor or any council member could score the latest Apple watch for $399 from a political supporter or say “yes” to a Louis Vuitton coin wallet for $440. The exceptions include gifts from a spouse, flowers for a funeral or wedding gifts.

Liccardo, who tripped the city gift policies in 2009 when he accepted three Sharks tickets that were valued at $311, fought hard Tuesday to keep the gift limits at the current $50.

“I know that people on this panel feel strongly that they will not be corrupted with a gift of $400, but to many of our residents that is a lot of money,” Liccardo told his colleagues. “And the appearance is very important to me.”

San Jose is known for establishing its own transparency rules — usually more stringent than the state — but sometimes it gets the city in trouble. Diep and Liccardo, for example, were among dozens of candidates and elected officials who violated San Jose election laws in 2015 by not filing certain campaign disclosures because the city rules varied from state law.

Also on Tuesday, the City Council overhauled its reporting rules for lobbyists to require them to file more often.

San Jose requires lobbyists to register at City Hall, pay fees for each client and file quarterly reports to show the public who they’re meeting with and what was discussed. But a Mercury News story in 2015 uncovered how those disclosures often came weeks — or months — after the City Council already voted on a policy. That meant the public couldn’t see how a lobbyist might’ve influenced a vote.

Now, lobbyists will be required to file that report every week by Monday. The quarterly disclosures will be eliminated. It’s unclear how City Clerk Toni Taber, who oversees the reports, will fine lobbyists for late filings. She said there will be a grace period through July 2018.

Today lobbyists pay $106 per day for up to 60 days when they miss a deadline.

“There won’t be late fees for the first year,” Taber said. “After that, if we discover that it is a problem, we can charge late fees per day.”

Longtime lobbyist Sean Kali-rai, who owns Jackson and Main, said the changes will take some getting used to, but more sunshine is never a bad thing.

“Nobody wants to be a Sean Spicer — except Melissa McCarthy — so now more than ever disclosure is important,” Kali-rai said. “At the end of the day, transparency in government is a net positive for everyone.”