(a) Organizational conflicts of interest. The provision of any type or amount of ESG assistance may not be conditioned on an individual's or family's acceptance or occupancy of emergency shelter or housing owned by the recipient, the subrecipient, or a parent or subsidiary of the subrecipient. No subrecipient may, with respect to individuals or families occupying housing owned by the subrecipient, or any parent or subsidiary of the subrecipient, carry out the initial evaluation required under §576.401 or administer homelessness prevention assistance under §576.103. Recipients and subrecipients must also maintain written standards of conduct covering organizational conflicts of interest required under 2 CFR 200.318.

(b) Individual conflicts of interest. For the procurement of goods and services, the recipient and its subrecipients must comply with 2 CFR 200.317 and 200.318. For all other transactions and activities, the following restrictions apply:

(1) Conflicts prohibited. No person described in paragraph (b)(2) of this section who exercises or has exercised any functions or responsibilities with respect to activities assisted under the ESG program, or who is in a position to participate in a decision-making process or gain inside information with regard to activities assisted under the program, may obtain a financial interest or benefit from an assisted activity; have a financial interest in any contract, subcontract, or agreement with respect to an assisted activity; or have a financial interest in the proceeds derived from an assisted activity, either for him or herself or for those with whom he or she has family or business ties, during his or her tenure or during the one-year period following his or her tenure.

(2) Persons covered. The conflict-of- interest provisions of paragraph (b)(1) of this section apply to any person who is an employee, agent, consultant, officer, or elected or appointed official of the recipient or its subrecipients.

(3) Exceptions. Upon the written request of the recipient, HUD may grant an exception to the provisions of this subsection on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the cumulative effects of the criteria in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section, provided that the recipient has satisfactorily met the threshold requirements of paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section.

(i) Threshold requirements. HUD will consider an exception only after the recipient has provided the following documentation:

(A) If the recipient or subrecipient is a government, disclosure of the nature of the conflict, accompanied by an assurance that there has been public disclosure of the conflict and a description of how the public disclosure was made; and

(B) An opinion of the recipient's attorney that the interest for which the exception is sought would not violate state or local law.

(ii) Factors to be considered for exceptions. In determining whether to grant a requested exception after the recipient has satisfactorily met the threshold requirements under paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section, HUD must conclude that the exception will serve to further the purposes of the ESG program and the effective and efficient administration of the recipient's or subrecipient's program or project, taking into account the cumulative effect of the following factors, as applicable:

(A) Whether the exception would provide a significant cost benefit or an essential degree of expertise to the program or project that would otherwise not be available;

(B) Whether an opportunity was provided for open competitive bidding or negotiation;

(C) Whether the affected person has withdrawn from his or her functions, responsibilities or the decision-making process with respect to the specific activity in question;

(D) Whether the interest or benefit was present before the affected person was in the position described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section;

(E) Whether undue hardship results to the recipient, the subrecipient, or the person affected, when weighed against the public interest served by avoiding the prohibited conflict; and

(F) Any other relevant considerations.

(c) Contractors. All contractors of the recipient or subrecipient must comply with the same requirements that apply to subrecipients under this section.

[76 FR 75974, Dec. 5, 2011, as amended at 80 FR 75939, Dec. 7, 2015]