§ 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.