employee of state agency — Penalties. A. For purposes of this section: 1. “Associated nongovernment entity” means: a. any nonprofit or charitable organization or private business including, but not limited to, a closely held corporation, limited liability company, subchapter S corporation, or partnership, in which: (1) the state officer or employee or his or her immediate family member has or has had a business relationship other than a routine consumer transaction at any point during the previous three hundred sixty-five (365) days, (2) the state officer or employee or his or her immediate family member is a director, officer, owner, partner, manager, employee, contractor, consultant, board member, or agent, (3) the state officer or employee or his or her immediate family member receives or has received income or other financial compensation at any point during the previous three hundred sixty- five (365) days, (4) the state officer or employee or his or her immediate family member, directly or indirectly, owns or has owned stock, another form of equity interest, stock options, debt instruments, or has received dividends or income at any point during the previous three hundred sixty-five (365) days, or (5) the state officer or employee or his or her immediate family member is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment, or b. any publicly traded corporation or other business entity in which: (1) the state officer or employee or his or her immediate family member holds or has held an ownership interest of five percent (5%) or more at any point during the previous three hundred sixty-five (365) days, or (2) the state officer or employee or his or her immediate family member serves or has served as a director or officer at any point during the previous three hundred sixty-five (365) days; 2. “Immediate family member” of a state officer or employee means: a. a spouse, b. the parents of a spouse, c. a child by birth or adoption, d. a stepchild, e. a parent, f. a grandparent, g. a grandchild, h. a sibling, i. a spouse’s sibling, or j. a spouse of any immediate family member listed in this paragraph; 3. “Private economic interest” includes any interest that could foreseeably result in directly or indirectly receiving a pecuniary gain, a competitive advantage, or sustaining pecuniary loss as a result of an official act or forbearance. A private economic interest shall not include an interest in a pension plan, 401(k), individual retirement account or other retirement investment vehicle that makes diversified investments over which the state officer or employee or his or her immediate family member exercises no control over the acquisition or sale of particular holdings; and 4. “State agency” includes any office, bureau, board, council, commission, department, authority, institution, trust, unit, division, or body of the executive branch of the state government, excluding political subdivisions of the state. B. It shall be unlawful for any state officer or employee of a state agency to participate in his or her official capacity through decision, approval, disapproval, authorization, recommendation, investigation, the rendering of advice, influence, or otherwise, in any matter in which he or she has a private economic interest or in which his or her immediate family member or an associated nongovernment entity has a private economic interest. Any person convicted of knowingly and willfully violating the provisions of this subsection shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a felony punishable by a fine not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not less than one (1) year nor more than ten (10) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Such person shall be prohibited from holding any public office in this state. The fact that the accused’s conduct also served a legitimate governmental purpose is no ground of defense or of mitigation of punishment. Prosecutions for violations of this subsection shall be commenced in accordance with subsection A of Section 152 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes. C. A state officer or employee who, in the discharge of his or her official responsibilities, is required or called upon to participate in a matter in which he or she has a private economic interest or in which his or her immediate family member or an associated nongovernment entity has a private economic interest, within thirty (30) days of becoming aware of such potential conflict arising from a private economic interest or prior to the official action affected by the private economic interest, whichever is first, shall: 1. Prepare a certified written statement describing the matter requiring participation and the nature of the potential conflict of interest with respect to the matter in detail sufficient to be understood by the public; 2. Furnish a copy of the statement to his or her superior, if any, who shall assign the matter to another employee who does not have a private economic interest. The superior shall furnish a copy of the statement to the Ethics Commission. If he or she has no immediate superior, he or she shall furnish a copy of the statement directly to the Ethics Commission. The statement shall remain available for public inspection; and 3. If the person is an elected officer or if he or she is appointed as the chief executive officer or head of a state agency, he or she shall furnish a copy of the statement to the presiding officer of the governing body of the agency on which he or she serves, who shall cause the statement to be printed in the minutes of the next meeting and require that the person be excused from any votes, deliberations, and other actions on the matter in which the potential conflict of interest exists and shall cause the disqualification and the reasons for the disqualification to be noted in the minutes. D. Any person convicted of knowingly and willfully violating the provisions of subsection C of this section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one (1) year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. E. Violation of any provision of this section shall be grounds for removal from office or termination from state employment. F. Any transaction or contract entered into in violation of any provision of this section shall be void. G. A person shall not be guilty of an offense under this section if the person’s performance of official functions would not affect the person, immediate family member, or associated nongovernment entity differently than such performance would affect the public generally, or would not affect the person, immediate family member, or associated nongovernment entity, as a member of a business, profession, occupation, or large class differently than such performance would affect any other member of such business, profession, occupation, or large class. H. The provisions of this section shall be cumulative to existing laws. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a state agency from implementing more restrictive policies to address conflicts of interest that remain in compliance with this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to invalidate any other provision of law establishing more restrictive procedures or measures to prevent conflicts of interest between public duties and private economic interests.
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