Conflict of interest

1. Each state employee or official directly or indirectly involved in procurement activities for the state will exercise caution in professional and personal activities to prevent a conflict of interest, or the appearance of conflict, regarding any vendor or contractor. 2. An employee or official shall not participate directly or indirectly in a procurement when the employee or official knows that: a. The employee or any member of the employee's immediate family, including a parent, spouse, child, sibling, grandparent, step- (parent, child, siblings), or in-laws (parent, child, and sibling), has a financial interest pertaining to the procurement; b. A business or organization in which the employee, or any member of the employee's immediate family, has a financial interest pertaining to the procurement; or c. Any other person, business, or organization with which the employee or any member of the employee's immediate family is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment involved in the procurement. 3. Upon discovery of an actual or potential conflict of interest, an employee or official shall promptly file a written statement of disqualification and withdraw from further participation in the transaction involved. The head of the state agency or institution, in consultation with the attorney general, shall make a written determination as to what further participation, if any, the employee may have in the procurement.