2-2-201. Public officers, employees, and former employees not to have interest in contracts -- local government waiver. (1) Members of the legislature; state, county, city, town, or township officers; or any deputy or employee of an enumerated governmental entity may not be interested in any contract made by them in their official capacity or by any body, agency, or board of which they are members or employees. A former employee may not, within 6 months following the termination of employment, contract or be employed by an employer who contracts with the state or any of its subdivisions involving matters with which the former employee was directly involved during employment. In this section the term:
     (a) "be interested in" does not include holding a minority interest in a corporation;
     (b) "contract" does not include:
     (i) contracts awarded to the lowest responsible bidder or proposer based on competitive bidding procedures;
     (ii) merchandise sold to the highest bidder at public auctions;
     (iii) investments or deposits in financial institutions that are in the business of loaning or receiving money;
     (iv) a contract with an interested party if, because of geographic restrictions, a local government could not otherwise reasonably afford itself of the subject of the contract. It is presumed that a local government could not otherwise reasonably afford itself of the subject of a contract if the additional cost to the local government is greater than 10% of a contract with an interested party or if the contract is for services that must be performed within a limited time period and no other contractor can provide those services within that time period.
     (c) "former employee" does not include a person whose employment with the state was involuntarily terminated due to a reduction in force or other involuntary termination not involving violation of the provisions of this chapter.
     (2) The governing body of a city, town, or county may waive the application of the prohibition contained in subsection (1) for a present or former city, town, or county officer or employee who in an official capacity does not influence the decisionmaking process or supervise a function regarding the contract in question. A governing body may grant a waiver under this subsection only after publicly disclosing the nature of the conflict at an advertised public hearing held for that purpose. In determining whether to grant a waiver, the governing body shall consider the following factors, where applicable:
     (a) whether the waiver would provide to a program or project a significant benefit or an essential skill or expertise that would otherwise not be available;
     (b) whether an opportunity was provided for open competitive bidding or negotiation;
     (c) whether the person affected is a member of a clearly identified group of persons that is the intended beneficiary of the program or project involved in the contract; and
     (d) whether the hardship imposed on the affected person or the governmental entity by prohibiting the conflict will outweigh the public interest served by avoiding the conflict.

     History: En. Sec. 1020, Pol. C. 1895; re-en. Sec. 368, Rev. C. 1907; re-en. Sec. 444, R.C.M. 1921; Cal. Pol. C. Sec. 920; re-en. Sec. 444, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 43, L. 1973; R.C.M. 1947, 59-501; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 377, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 458, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 65, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 322, L. 1993.