(a) Board members or their staff shall not participate in an MTA decision in which they know or have reason to know that they have a financial interest.
(b) Board members shall not be purchasers at any sale, or vendors at any purchase, that is made personally by that member.
(c) An individual is deemed to have a financial interest in a decision if it is reasonably foreseeable that the decision will have a material financial effect on that individual or the individual’s immediate family, distinguishable from its effect on the public generally, or on any of the following:
(1) Any business entity in which the board member or staff member has a direct or indirect investment worth one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more.
(2) Any real property in which the board member or staff member has a direct or indirect interest worth one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more.
(3) Any source of income, other than gifts and other than loans by a commercial lending institution made in the regular course of business in terms available to the public without regard to official status, aggregating two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or more in value provided to, received by, or promised to the board member or staff member within 12 months prior to the time when the decision is made.
(4) Any business entity in which the board member or a member of his or her staff is a director, officer, partner, trustee, or employee, or holds any position of management.
(5) Any donor or, or any intermediary of, agent for a donor of a gift or gifts aggregating two hundred eighty-nine dollars ($289) or more in value provided to, received by, or promised to, the board member or staff member within 12 months prior to the time the decision is made.
(d) This section does not prohibit a board member from participating in a decision if that participation is legally required in order for the decision to be made. In that case the individual shall disclose the nature of his or her interest before he or she participates in the decision. For the purposes of this subdivision, the fact that a board member’s vote is necessary to break a tie does not make his or her participation legally required.
(Added by Stats. 1997, Ch. 900, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 1998.)