N.Y. Economic Development Law § 439: Conflict of interest guidelines

§ 439. Conflict of interest guidelines. 1. Each campus, university or

college participating in the START-UP NY program shall adopt a conflict

of interest policy. Such conflict of interest policy shall provide, as

it relates to the START-UP NY program: (a) as a general principle, that

service as an official of the campus, university or college shall not be

used as a means for private benefit or inurement for the official, a

relative thereof, or any entity in which the official, or relative

thereof, has a business interest; (b) no official who is a vendor or

employee of a vendor of goods or services to the campus, university or

college, or who has a business interest in such vendor, or whose

relative has a business interest in such vendor, shall vote on, or

participate in the administration by the campus, university or college,

as the case may be, of any transaction with such vendor; and (c) upon

becoming aware of an actual or potential conflict of interest, an

official shall advise the president or chief executive officer of the

campus, university or college, as the case may be, of his or her or a

relative's business interest in any such existing or proposed vendor

with the campus, university or college. Each campus, university or

college shall maintain a written record of all disclosures of actual or

potential conflicts of interest made pursuant to paragraph (c) of this

subdivision, and shall report such disclosures, on a calendar year

basis, by January thirty-first of each year, to the auditor for such

campus, university or college. The auditor shall forward such reports to

the commissioner, who shall make public such reports.

2. For purposes of such conflict of interest policies: (a) an official

of a campus, university or college has a "business interest" in an

entity if the individual: (i) owns or controls ten percent or more of

the stock of the entity (or one percent in the case of an entity the

stock of which is regularly traded on an established securities

exchange); or (ii) serves as an officer, director or partner of the

entity; (b) a "relative" of an official of a campus, university or

college shall mean any person living in the same household as the

individual and any person who is a direct descendant of that

individual's grandparents or the spouse of such descendant; and (c) an

"official" of a campus, university or college shall mean an employee at

the level of dean and above as well as any other employee with

decision-making authority over the START-UP NY program.