Michigan § 125.2088m - Member, employee, or agent of commercialization board; conduct.

(1) Notwithstanding section 3(1) of 1968 PA 317, MCL 15.323, members of the commercialization board are considered public servants subject to 1968 PA 317, MCL 15.321 to 15.330, and public officers subject to 1973 PA 196, MCL 15.341 to 15.348. An officer or an employee of a state institution of higher education may at the same time also hold the public office of member of the commercialization board as authorized under section 88l(3)(d) and the officer or employee shall not be deemed to hold 2 or more incompatible offices at the same time. A member of the commercialization board shall discharge the duties of the position in a nonpartisan manner, in good faith, in the best interests of this state, and with the degree of diligence, care, and skill that a fiduciary would exercise under similar circumstances in a like position. In discharging duties of the office, a member of the commercialization board when acting in good faith may rely upon the report of an independent expert or independent peer review expert or upon financial statements of the commercialization board represented to the member of the commercialization board by the officer of the commercialization board having charge of its books or accounts or stated in a written report by the auditor general.

(2) A member of the commercialization board shall not make or participate in making, or in any way attempt to use his or her position as a member of the commercialization board to influence, a matter before the fund board or the commercialization board regarding a loan, grant, or other expenditure under this chapter to his or her employer.

(3) An independent peer review expert shall not have any financial interest in a recipient of investment fund proceeds under this chapter.

(4) A member, employee, or agent of the commercialization board shall not engage in any conduct that constitutes a conflict of interest and shall immediately advise the commercialization board in writing of the details of any incident or circumstances that may present the existence of a conflict of interest with respect to the performance of the commercialization board-related work or duty of the member, employee, or agent of the commercialization board.

(5) A member of the commercialization board who has a conflict of interest related to any matter before the commercialization board shall disclose the conflict of interest before the commercialization board takes any action with respect to the matter, which disclosure shall become a part of the record of the commercialization board's official proceedings. The member with the conflict of interest shall refrain from doing all of the following with respect to the matter that is the basis of the conflict of interest:

(a) Voting in the commercialization board's proceedings related to the matter.

(b) Participating in the commercialization board's discussion of and deliberation on the matter.

(c) Being present at the meeting when the discussion, deliberation, and voting on the matter take place.

(d) Discussing the matter with any other commercialization board member.

(6) Failure of a member to comply with subsection (5) constitutes misconduct in office subject to removal under section 94.

(7) When authorizing expenditures and investments under this act, the commercialization board shall not consider whether a recipient has made a contribution or expenditure under the Michigan campaign finance act, 1976 PA 388, MCL 169.201 to 169.282.