Overview to Conflict of Interest Laws感兴趣法律冲突概述.docVIP

Overview to Conflict of Interest Laws The following information was excerpted from Building Results through Organizational Excellence: A Handbook about Organizational Development for California County Children and Families Commissions, authored by Mike Smith of Social Entrepreneurs, Inc. for the Center for Health Improvement. As a public body, County Commissions must be very sensitive to the issue of conflict of interest. Failure to adhere to conflict of interest rules can result in the overturn of decisions, penalties such as fines and imprisonment for violating members, and damaging publicity within the local community. Government Code section 87100 states that “no public official at any level of state or local government may make, participate in making or in any way use or attempt to use his/her official position to influence a governmental decision in which he/she knows or has reason to know he/she has a disqualifying conflict of interest.” The Fair Political Practices Commission further notes that “stripped of legal jargon, you have a conflict of interest with regard to a particular government decision if it is sufficiently likely that the outcome of the decision will have an important impact on your economic interests, and if the important impact on your economic interests is not also felt by a significant segment of the jurisdiction.” The following information seeks to demystify the conflict of interest laws. However, this information is only an overview and does not replace the need for competent legal counsel on conflict of interest issues and understanding of the full text of the applicable laws and regulations. Overview of Conflict of Interest Laws There are two areas of the California Government Code related to conflicts of interest that are of particular importance to County Commissions: Economic disclosure provisions under the Political Reform Act of 1974. The Political Reform Act is set forth at Government Code sections 81000-91015, and Fair Poli