1. (a) Personal or private interest (as defined in §702.3(19) of this chapter) requiring Committee member recusal. An Oversight Committee member with a personal or private interest in a decision before the Oversight Committee, must disclose the interest in an open meeting of the Oversight Committee and must recuse him/her self from participation in the matter.
2. (b) Personal or private interest requiring recusal of others. A member of a advisory committee, an executive level employee of the Institute or Institute employee in a position to influence the awarding, administration, review or evaluation of a grant proposal or awarded grant who has an ownership interest of 5% or more in an entity that applies for or receives a grant from the Institute is required to inform the presiding officer of the Oversight Committee and the Executive Director and to recuse him/her self from participation in that matter.

3. (c) Personal or private interest requiring recusal of peer review group. A member of a peer review group in a position to influence the awarding, administration, review or evaluation of a grant proposal or awarded grant is required to inform the Executive Director and to recuse himself/herself from participation in that matter if he/she or a close relative:

   1. (1) Owns or controls, directly or indirectly, an ownership interest of 5% or more in a business entity or other organization receiving or applying to receive money from the Institute. Interests subject to this provision include sharing in profits, proceeds, or capital gains. Examples of ownership or control, include but are not limited to owning shares, stock, or otherwise, and are not dependent on whether voting rights are included;
   2. (2) Is a member of the board of directors, other governing board or any committee of the entity;
   3. (3) Serves as an elected or appointed officer of the entity;
   4. (4) Is an employee of the entity or is negotiating future employment with the entity;
   5. (5) Represents in business or law; or
   6. (6) Could reasonably foresee that an action taken by the peer review group, Institute or its Oversight Committee could result in a financial benefit to the individual of 100% or more.
4. (d) An Oversight Committee member, executive level employee of the Institute, or Institute employee in a position to influence the awarding, administration, review or evaluation of a grant proposal or awarded grant shall not lease, directly or indirectly, any property, capital equipment, employee or service to any program, business, enterprise or institution that receives a grant from the Institute.
5. (e) Any appearance of a conflict of interest will result in recusal of a member of the Oversight Committee, a member of a peer review group, or a member of an advisory group, executive level employee of the Institute, or Institute employee in a position to influence the awarding, administration, review or evaluation of a grant proposal or awarded grant, unless a waiver is issued in compliance with §702.13 of this chapter, concerning procedures, determining that it would be difficult or impractical to carry out the review or action otherwise, and the integrity of the review process or committee action would not be impaired by the member's participation.
6. (f) A member of the Oversight Committee shall not submit a grant application for funding by the Institute.
7. (g) The Executive Director may provide guidance to the members of the Oversight Committee, to individuals responsible for managing reviews, and to reviewers on what interests would constitute a conflict of interest or an appearance of a conflict of interest.

Source Note:The provisions of this §702.11 adopted to be effective July 13, 2009, 34 TexReg 4640.