18 U.S.C. § 208 — Acts affecting a personal financial interest

submitted 64 years ago by Pub. L. 87-849 to r/title-18-CRIMES-AND-CRIMINAL-PROCEDURE · 845 words · no verdicts yet

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This law bans federal officials from working on government matters that would affect money they, their family, or groups they're tied to stand to gain or lose from. It lists narrow, specific situations where that is allowed anyway.

(a) This applies to officers and employees of the executive branch, independent federal agencies, Federal Reserve bank directors, officers, and employees, and officers and employees of the District of Columbia, including special government employees. Unless subsection (b) allows it, none of them may personally and substantially take part — by deciding, approving, disapproving, recommending, advising, investigating, or anything similar — in a government matter (like a lawsuit, application, contract, claim, or arrest) if they know that they, their spouse, their minor child, their general business partner, an organization where they serve as an officer, director, trustee, general partner, or employee, or someone they are negotiating a future job with, has a financial interest in that matter. Breaking this rule brings the penalties in section 216. (b) There are four exceptions. First, the officer or employee can tell the official responsible for their appointment about the matter and the interest in advance, and get a written decision that the interest isn't big enough to affect the integrity of their work. Second, the Director of the Office of Government Ethics can issue a public regulation exempting that type of financial interest as too remote or too small to matter. Third, for a special government employee on an advisory committee, the appointing official can review the employee's financial disclosure report and certify in writing that the value of their service outweighs the conflict risk. Fourth, if the only financial interest comes from birthright membership — in a recognized Indian tribe, band, nation, or similar group, including an Alaska Native village corporation, in a trust-held or restricted Indian land allotment, or in an Indian claims fund the U.S. holds or runs — and the specific matter doesn't involve that allotment, fund, or tribe as an actual party. (c) For Federal Reserve class A and B bank directors, the Board of Governors counts as the "responsible official" for the first exception. Qualifying for one exception doesn't stop someone from also qualifying under a different one. (d) On request, a copy of a decision granting the first or third exception generally has to be made public, though the agency can withhold parts that section 552 of title 5 would let it withhold; for the third exception, the public version can't describe the financial interest in more detail than the person's own disclosure report already does. The Office of Government Ethics, after consulting the Attorney General, must issue uniform rules for granting these waivers and exemptions, listing and explaining them and giving guidance on which interests are too small to matter.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)

Except as permitted by subsection (b) hereof, whoever, being an officer or employee of the executive branch of the United States Government, or of any independent agency of the United States, a Federal Reserve bank director, officer, or employee, or an officer or employee of the District of Columbia, including a special Government employee, participates personally and substantially as a Government officer or employee, through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise, in a judicial or other proceeding, application, request for a ruling or other determination, contract, claim, controversy, charge, accusation, arrest, or other particular matter in which, to his knowledge, he, his spouse, minor child, general partner, organization in which he is serving as officer, director, trustee, general partner or employee, or any person or organization with whom he is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment, has a financial interest—

Shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section 216 of this title.

(b)

Subsection (a) shall not apply—

(1)

if the officer or employee first advises the Government official responsible for appointment to his or her position of the nature and circumstances of the judicial or other proceeding, application, request for a ruling or other determination, contract, claim, controversy, charge, accusation, arrest, or other particular matter and makes full disclosure of the financial interest and receives in advance a written determination made by such official that the interest is not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the services which the Government may expect from such officer or employee;

(2)

if, by regulation issued by the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, applicable to all or a portion of all officers and employees covered by this section, and published in the Federal Register, the financial interest has been exempted from the requirements of subsection (a) as being too remote or too inconsequential to affect the integrity of the services of the Government officers or employees to which such regulation applies;

(3)

in the case of a special Government employee serving on an advisory committee within the meaning of chapter 10 of title 5 (including an individual being considered for an appointment to such a position), the official responsible for the employee’s appointment, after review of the financial disclosure report filed by the individual pursuant to chapter 131 of title 5, certifies in writing that the need for the individual’s services outweighs the potential for a conflict of interest created by the financial interest involved; or

(4)

if the financial interest that would be affected by the particular matter involved is that resulting solely from the interest of the officer or employee, or his or her spouse or minor child, in birthrights—

(A)

in an Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians,

(B)

in an Indian allotment the title to which is held in trust by the United States or which is inalienable by the allottee without the consent of the United States, or

(C)

in an Indian claims fund held in trust or administered by the United States,

if the particular matter does not involve the Indian allotment or claims fund or the Indian tribe, band, nation, organized group or community, or Alaska Native village corporation as a specific party or parties.

(c)

(1)

For the purpose of paragraph (1) of subsection (b), in the case of class A and B directors of Federal Reserve banks, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall be deemed to be the Government official responsible for appointment.

(2)

The potential availability of an exemption under any particular paragraph of subsection (b) does not preclude an exemption being granted pursuant to another paragraph of subsection (b).

(d)

(1)

Upon request, a copy of any determination granting an exemption under subsection (b)(1) or (b)(3) shall be made available to the public by the agency granting the exemption pursuant to the procedures set forth in section 13107 of title 5. In making such determination available, the agency may withhold from disclosure any information contained in the determination that would be exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5. For purposes of determinations under subsection (b)(3), the information describing each financial interest shall be no more extensive than that required of the individual in his or her financial disclosure report under chapter 131 of title 5.

(2)

The Office of Government Ethics, after consultation with the Attorney General, shall issue uniform regulations for the issuance of waivers and exemptions under subsection (b) which shall—

(A)

list and describe exemptions; and

(B)

provide guidance with respect to the types of interests that are not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the services the Government may expect from the employee.

Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 87–849, § 1(a), Oct. 23, 1962, 76 Stat. 1124; amended Pub. L. 95–188, title II, § 205, Nov. 16, 1977, 91 Stat. 1388; Pub. L. 101–194, title IV, § 405, Nov. 30, 1989, 103 Stat. 1751; Pub. L. 101–280, § 5(e), May 4, 1990, 104 Stat. 159; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §§ 330002(b), 330008(6), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2140, 2143; Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(134), (c)(27), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4320, 4357.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1962Enacted · Pub. L. 87-849 · 76 Stat. 1124
1977Amended · Pub. L. 95-188 · 91 Stat. 1388
1989Amended · Pub. L. 101-194 · 103 Stat. 1751
1990Amended · Pub. L. 101-280 · 104 Stat. 159
1994Amended · Pub. L. 103-322 · 108 Stat. 2140, 2143
2022Amended · Pub. L. 117-286 · 136 Stat. 4320, 4357

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 87-849 on 1962-10-23.

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