To avoid a conflict of interest (or the appearance of a conflict of interest) regarding the provision of assistance or approved national service positions, members of a State Commission or AAE must adhere to the following provisions:
(a) General restriction. Members of State Commissions and AAEs are restricted in several ways from the grant approval and administration process for any grant application submitted by an organization for which they are currently, or were within one year of the submission of the application, officers, directors, trustees, full-time volunteers or employees. The restrictions for such individuals are as follows:
(1) They cannot assist the applying organization in preparing the grant application;
(2) They must recuse themselves from the discussions or decisions regarding the grant application and any other grant applications submitted to the Commission or AAE under the same program (e.g., subtitle B programs or subtitle C programs); and
(3) They cannot participate in the oversight, evaluation, continuation, suspension or termination of the grant award.
(b) Exception to achieve a quorum. If this general restriction creates a situation in which a Commission or AAE does not have enough eligible voting members to achieve a quorum, the Commission or AAE may involve some normally-excluded members subject to the following conditions:
(1) A Commission or AAE may randomly and in a non-discretionary manner select the number of refused members necessary to achieve a quorum;
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (b)(1) of this section, no Commission or AAE member may, under any circumstances, participate in any discussions or decisions regarding a grant application submitted by an organization with which he or she is or was affiliated according to the definitions in paragraph (a) of this section; and
(3) If recused members are included so as to achieve quorum, the State Commission or AAE must document the event and report to the Corporation within 30 days of the vote.
(c) Rule of construction. Paragraph (a) of this section shall not be construed to limit the authority of any voting member of the State Commission or AAE to participate in -
(1) Discussion of, and hearings and forums on, the general duties, policies and operations of the Commission or AAE, or general program administration; or
(2) Similar general matters relating to the Commission or AAE.