As used in this subchapter:
(1) “Blind trust” means an independently managed trust in which the employee-beneficiary has no management rights and in which the employee-beneficiary is not given notice of alterations in or other dispositions of the property subject to the trust;
(2) “Business” means any corporation, partnership, individual, sole proprietorship, joint-stock company, joint venture, or any other legal entity;
(3) “Commodities” means all property, including, but not limited to:
(A) Equipment;
(B) Printing;
(C) Stationery;
(D) Supplies;
(E) Insurance; and
(F) Real property;
(4) “Confidential information” means any information which is available to an employee only because of the employee's status as an employee of this state and is not a matter of public knowledge or available to the public on request;
(5) “Conspicuously” means written in such special or distinctive format, print, or manner that a reasonable person against whom it is to operate ought to have noticed it;
(6) “Contract” means all types of state agreements, regardless of what they may be called, for the purchase or disposal of commodities and services. “Contract” includes awards and notices of award; contracts of a fixed-price, cost, cost-plus-a-fixed-fee, or incentive type; contracts providing for the issuance of job or task orders; leases; letter contracts; and purchase orders. “Contract” also includes supplemental agreements with respect to any of the foregoing;
(7) “Contractor” means any person having a contract with a state agency;
(8) “Employee” means an individual drawing a salary from a state agency, whether elected or not, and any nonsalaried individual performing personal services for any state agency;
(9) “Financial interest” means:
(A) Ownership of any interest or involvement in any relationship from which, or as a result of which, a person within the past year has received, or is presently or in the future entitled to receive, more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per year, or its equivalent;
(B) Ownership of more than a five percent (5%) interest in any business; or
(C) Holding a position in a business such as an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee, or the like, or holding any position of management;
(10) “Gratuity” means a payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services, or anything of more than nominal value, present or promised, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value is received;
(11) “Immediate family” means a spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, and grandparents;
(12) “Official responsibility” means direct administrative or operating authority, whether intermediate or final, either exercisable alone or with others, either personally or through subordinates, to approve, disapprove, or otherwise direct state action;
(13) “Person” means any business, individual, union, committee, club, or other organization or group of individuals;
(14) “Procurement” means the buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise obtaining of any commodities or services. “Procurement” also includes all functions that pertain to the obtaining of any public procurement, including description of requirements, selection and solicitation of sources, preparation and award of contract, and all phases of contract administration;
(15) “Services” means technical, professional, or other services involving the furnishing of labor, time, or effort by a contractor; and
(16) “State agency” means any office, department, commission, council, board, bureau, committee, institution, legislative body, agency, government corporation, or other establishment or official of the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of this state.