Bill > S668

This bill requires academic institutions, both public and independent, to establish and maintain written policies aimed at eliminating or minimizing potential conflicts of interest for faculty and staff. These policies must address financial relationships that individuals might develop with entities outside of their primary employer or a government agency, stemming from their academic work or expertise. Such financial relationships are broadly defined to include anything of significant monetary value, such as salaries, consulting fees, equity interests like stocks, and intellectual property rights like patents and royalties. The bill mandates that these conflict-of-interest policies and any disclosed financial relationships be made available online for public review. Furthermore, the board of higher education will collaborate with the state ethics commission to create guidelines for institutions to help them develop these policies and comply with the new requirements, considering existing policies and identifying best practices. The board is given 270 days after the bill's passage to issue these guidelines.