Section 40IAC2-1-4. Definitions

   (a) The definitions in this section apply throughout this article.

  (b) "Agency" means an authority, a board, a branch, a bureau, a commission, a committee, a counsel, a department, a division, an office, a service, or other instrumentality of the executive, including the administrative, department of state government. The term does not include any of the following:

(1) The judicial department of state government.

(2) The legislative department of state government.

(3) Separate bodies corporate and politic.

(4) A state educational institution, as defined in IC 20-12-0.5-1 [IC 20-12 was repealed by P.L.2-2007, SECTION 390, effective July 1, 2007.].

  (c) "Appointing authority" means the chief administrative officer of an agency. The term does not include a state officer.

  (d) "Business relationship" means dealings an agency has with a person seeking, obtaining, establishing, maintaining, or implementing:

(1) a pecuniary interest in a contract or purchase with an agency; or

(2) a license or permit requiring the exercise of judgment or discretion by the agency.

  (e) "Commission" means the state ethics commission created under IC 4-2-6-2.

  (f) "Compensation" means any money, thing of value, or financial benefit conferred on or received by any person in return for services rendered, or for services to be rendered, whether by that person or another.

  (g) "Conflict of interest" means a situation in which the private financial interest of a state officer, an employee, or the spouse or unemancipated child of a state officer or employee, may influence the state officer's or employee's judgment in the performance of a public duty.

  (h) "Employee" means an individual, other than a state officer, who is employed by an agency. The term includes, for the limited purposes of this rule, an individual who contracts with an agency for personal services for more than thirty (30) hours a week for more than twenty-six (26) weeks during any one (1) year period.

  (i) "Ethics" means the principles of conduct governing an individual or group.

  (j) "Financial interest" means an interest:

(1) in a purchase, sale, lease, contract, option, or other transaction between an agency and any person; or

(2) involving property or services.

The term includes an interest arising from employment or prospective employment for which negotiations have begun. The term does not include an interest of the state officer or employee in the common stock of a corporation unless the combined holdings in the corporation of the state officer or the employee, that individual's spouse, and that individual's unemancipated children are more than one percent (1%) of the outstanding shares of the common stock of the corporation. The term does not include an interest that is not greater than the interests of the general public or any state officer or any state employee.

  (k) "Gift" means the transfer or promise of a transfer of something of value regardless of the form without adequate and lawful consideration or consideration less than that required of others who are not employees, including the full or partial forgiveness of indebtedness, which is not extended to others who are not state employees on the same terms and conditions. However, "gift" does not include gifts from relatives of less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or campaign contributions subject to IC 3-9-2.

  (l) "Honorarium" means a payment of money for an appearance, a speech, or an article but does not include payment or reimbursement of travel expenses for a state employee.

  (m) "Information of a confidential nature" means information:

(1) obtained by reason of the position or office held; and

(2) which:

(A) a public agency is prohibited from disclosing under IC 5-14-3-4(a);

(B) a public agency has the discretion not to disclose under IC 5-14-3-4(b) and that the agency has not disclosed; or

(C) the information is not in a public record, but if it were, would be confidential.

  (n) "Moonlighting" means any activity for compensation by a state employee outside of state employment.

  (o) "Person" means any individual, proprietorship, partnership, unincorporated association, trust, business trust, group or corporation, whether or not operated for profit, or a governmental agency or political subdivision.

  (p) "Property" has the meaning set forth in IC 35-41-1-23 [IC 35-41-1-23 was repealed by P.L.114-2012, SECTION 122, effective July 1, 2012.].

  (q) "Public official" means anyone who holds a public office, elected or appointed, at the federal, state, county, or local level.

  (r) "Relative" means any person related as father, mother, step-father, step-mother, brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister, uncle, aunt, husband, wife, son, daughter, step-child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchild, step-grandchild, niece, or nephew.

  (s) "State officer" means the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, attorney general, and state superintendent of public instruction.

  (t) "Travel expenses" means transportation, lodging, and meals. It may be actual travel expenses or an amount approximating those expenses which would be allowed by state travel policies and procedures authorized under IC 4-13-1-4(7).

  (u) The masculine gender includes the masculine and feminine.

  (v) The singular form of any noun includes the plural wherever appropriate. (State Ethics Commission; 40 IAC 2-1-4; filed Mar 10, 1988, 2:00 p.m.: 11 IR 2326; filed Oct 22, 1991, 11:10 a.m.: 15 IR 199; readopted filed Aug 2, 2001, 3:15 p.m.: 24 IR 4227; readopted filed Nov 29, 2007, 11:14 a.m.: 20071226-IR-040070658RFA; readopted filed Sep 30, 2013, 1:33 p.m.: 20131030-IR-040130243RFA)