HB457: Conflicts of Interest Act, State and Local; exemption for faculty papers.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 2.2-3106 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 2.2-3106. Prohibited contracts by officers and employees of state government and Eastern Virginia Medical School.
A. No officer or employee of any governmental agency of state government or Eastern Virginia Medical School shall have a personal interest in a contract with the governmental agency of which he is an officer or employee, other than his own contract of employment.
B. No officer or employee of any governmental agency of state government or Eastern Virginia Medical School shall have a personal interest in a contract with any other governmental agency of state government unless such contract is (i) awarded as a result of competitive sealed bidding or competitive negotiation as defined in § 2.2-4301 or (ii) is awarded after a finding, in writing, by the administrative head of the governmental agency that competitive bidding or negotiation is contrary to the best interest of the public.
C. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
1. An employee's personal interest in additional contracts of employment with his own governmental agency that accrue to him because of a member of his immediate family, provided the employee does not exercise any control over the employment or the employment activities of the member of his immediate family and the employee is not in a position to influence those activities;
2. The personal interest of an officer or employee of a state institution of higher education or the Eastern Virginia Medical School in additional contracts of employment with his own governmental agency that accrue to him because of a member of his immediate family, provided (i) the officer or employee and the immediate family member are engaged in teaching, research or administrative support positions at the educational institution or the Eastern Virginia Medical School, (ii) the governing board of the educational institution finds that it is in the best interests of the institution or the Eastern Virginia Medical School and the Commonwealth for such dual employment to exist, and (iii) after such finding, the governing board of the educational institution or the Eastern Virginia Medical School ensures that the officer or employee, or the immediate family member, does not have sole authority to supervise, evaluate or make personnel decisions regarding the other;
3. An officer's or employee's personal interest in a contract of employment with any other governmental agency of state government;
4. Contracts for the sale by a governmental agency or the Eastern Virginia Medical School of services or goods at uniform prices available to the general public;
5. An employee's personal interest in a contract between a public institution of higher education in Virginia or the Eastern Virginia Medical School and a publisher or wholesaler of textbooks or other educational materials for students, which accrues to him solely because he has authored or otherwise created such textbooks or materials;
6. An employee's personal interest in a contract with his or her employing public institution of higher education to acquire the collections or scholarly works owned by the employee, including manuscripts, musical scores, poetry, paintings, books or other materials, writings or papers of an academic, research, or cultural value to the institution, provided the president of the institution approves the acquisition of such collections or scholarly works as being in the best interests of the institution's public mission of service, research, or education.
67.
Subject to approval by the board of visitors, an employee's personal interest
in a contract between the Eastern Virginia Medical School or a public
institution of higher education in Virginia that operates a school of medicine
or dentistry and a not-for-profit nonstock corporation that operates a clinical
practice within such public institution of higher education or the Eastern
Virginia Medical School and of which such employee is a member or employee;
78.
Subject to approval by the relevant board of visitors, an employee's personal
interest in a contract for research and development or commercialization of
intellectual property between a public institution of higher education in
Virginia or the Eastern Virginia Medical School and a business in which the
employee has a personal interest, if (i) the employee's personal interest has
been disclosed to and approved by such public institution of higher education
or the Eastern Virginia Medical School prior to the time at which the contract
is entered into; (ii) the employee promptly files a disclosure statement
pursuant to § 2.2-3117 and thereafter files such statement annually on or
before January 15; (iii) the institution has established a formal policy
regarding such contracts, approved by the State Council of Higher Education or,
in the case of the Eastern Virginia Medical School, a formal policy regarding
such contracts in conformity with any applicable federal regulations that has
been approved by its board of visitors; and (iv) no later than December 31 of
each year, the institution or the Eastern Virginia Medical School files an
annual report with the Secretary of the Commonwealth disclosing each open
contract entered into subject to this provision, the names of the parties to
each contract, the date each contract was executed and its term, the subject of
each contractual arrangement, the nature of the conflict of interest, the
institution's or the Eastern Virginia Medical School's employee responsible for
administering each contract, the details of the institution's or the Eastern
Virginia Medical School's commitment or investment of resources or finances for
each contract, and any other information requested by the Secretary of the
Commonwealth; or
89.
Subject to approval by the relevant board of visitors, an employee's personal
interest in a contract between a public institution of higher education in
Virginia or the Eastern Virginia Medical School and a business in which the
employee has a personal interest, if (i) the personal interest has been
disclosed to the institution or the Eastern Virginia Medical School prior to
the time the contract is entered into; (ii) the employee files a disclosure
statement pursuant to § 2.2-3117 and thereafter annually on or before January
15; (iii) the employee does not participate in the institution's or the Eastern
Virginia Medical School's decision to contract; (iv) the president of the
institution or the Eastern Virginia Medical School finds and certifies in
writing that the contract is for goods and services needed for quality patient
care, including related medical education or research, by the institution's
medical center or the Eastern Virginia Medical School, its affiliated teaching
hospitals and other organizations necessary for the fulfillment of its mission,
including the acquisition of drugs, therapies and medical technologies; and (v)
no later than December 31 of each year, the institution or the Eastern Virginia
Medical School files an annual report with the Secretary of the Commonwealth
disclosing each open contract entered subject to this provision, the names of
the parties to each contract, the date each contract was executed and its term,
the subject of each contractual arrangement, the nature of the conflict of
interest, the institution's or the Eastern Virginia Medical School's employee
responsible for administering each contract, the details of the institution's
or the Eastern Virginia Medical School's commitment or investment of resources
or finances for each contract, and any other information requested by the
Secretary of the Commonwealth.
D. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions C 78
and C 89,
if the research and development or commercialization of intellectual property
or the employee's personal interest in a contract with a business is subject to
policies and regulations governing conflicts of interest promulgated by any
agency of the United States government, including the adoption of policies
requiring the disclosure and management of such conflicts of interests, the
policies established by the Eastern Virginia Medical School pursuant to such
federal requirements shall constitute compliance with subdivisions C 78
and C 89, upon
notification by the Eastern Virginia Medical School to the Secretary of the
Commonwealth by January 31 of each year of evidence of their compliance with
such federal policies and regulations.
E. The board of visitors may delegate the authority granted
under subdivision C 78 to the
president of the institution. If the board elects to delegate such authority,
the board shall include this delegation of authority in the formal policy
required by clause (iii) of subdivision C 78.
In those instances where the board has delegated such authority, on or before
December 1 of each year, the president of the relevant institution shall file a
report with the relevant board of visitors disclosing each open contract entered
into subject to this provision, the names of the parties to each contract, the
date each contract was executed and its term, the subject of each contractual
arrangement, the nature of the conflict of interest, the institution's or the
Eastern Virginia Medical School's employee responsible for administering each
contract, the details of the institution's or the Eastern Virginia Medical
School's commitment or investment of resources or finances for each contract,
the details of how revenues are to be dispersed, and any other information
requested by the board of visitors.