Okla. Stat. tit. 74, § 74-3102.1

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

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 74. State Government Page 957

(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
n 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

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 74. State Government Page 958

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

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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
or would not affect the person, immediate

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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.