to information not generally available to the public, you must not use that information for your private benefit or make it available for the private benefit of any other person or institution.

(b) Consulting, lecturing, etc. about the NSF. You must not receive anything of monetary value for consulting, lecturing, writing, or public discussion that concerns the responsibilities, the programs, or the operations of the NSF or that draws on official information or ideas not generally available to the public.

(c) Waivers. The Director, the Deputy Director, or an assistant director may waive application of these rules and authorize use of non-public information in the public interest. Any such authorization must be in writing. Consult an ethics counselor in the Office of the General Counsel.

(d) Private use of public property or services. You must not use Government property or services for your private benefit or for the private benefit of others, except as your normal public duties benefit particular members of the public in intended ways.

§683.35 Participation in NSF-sup

ported conferences and workshops. You may participate in a conference, workshop, or similar event supported by NSF funds, provided you do not receive any compensation, honorarium, or the like for your participation. You may not serve as an organizer or director of such an NSF-supported event, unless its purpose is to plan, assess, or publicize NSF programs. Nor, ordinarily, should you chair a session or give a paper except to describe NSF programs or NSF needs. You may discuss arrangements with the organizers or directors as long as you do not use the influence that derives from your NSF position to pressure them.

§683.36 Gifts, favors, loans, prizes, and awards.

(a) Gifts and favors generally. You may not directly or indirectly solicit or accept a gift, a favor, or a loan from any person or organization that has or is seeking NSF awards, that has other interests potentially affected by what you do in your NSF job, or that may be trying to affect your official actions.

(You may, however, accept promotional things of trivial value such as pens, pencils, note pads, and calendars.)

(b) Meals or entertainment. By extension, you should ordinarily avoid accepting meals or entertainment from such persons or organizations if you can avoid doing so within the reasonable bounds of politeness. You may, however, occasionally accept a modest meal offered as a courtesy or convenience during a site visit or a luncheon or dinner meeting.

(c) Prizes and awards. The restrictions in paragraph (a) of this section do not prevent you from accepting a prize or award for scientific or other public achievement given by a university, scientific society, or other organization. However, you may accept anything of value that accompanies the prize or award only if it is not paid for out of funds that come wholly or partly from an NSF award. You will be disqualified for one year from handling proposals and other award-related applications that involve the interests of the person or institution from which you received any such prize or award. See §681.21 of this chapter.

(d) From foreign governments. You may not accept a gift or decoration from a foreign government except one of "minimal value". Minimal value means retail value in the United States of $140 or less. If the gift is of more than minimal value you may accept it only if not accepting it would be likely to cause offense or embarrassment. Even then, any gift of more than minimal value becomes the property of the United States. Consult an ethics counselor for help in depositing the gift with the State Department.

Subpart D-Political Activity
(Hatch Act)

§ 683.40 Introduction; who's covered.
(a) Hatch Act. In order to ensure that
day-to-day government actions (such
as award of grants) are not affected by
political motives and in order to pre-
serve a nonpolitical civil service that
is selected on merit, not on political
considerations, the law restricts the in-
volvement of Federal civil service em-
ployees with partisan politics. These

restrictions derive from a law popularly known as "the Hatch Act".

(b) Summary of Hatch Act restrictions. (1) You may not run for public or party office, except in nonpartisan elections and certain local elections. See § 683.42(a).

non

(2) You may not participate in election campaigning, except in partisan elections and certain local elections. See § 683.42(c).

(3) You may not take an active part in leading or managing a political party. See § 683.43.

(4) You must not use your official authority or influence for political purposes. See § 683.44.

(c) Presidential appointees. You are subject to these restrictions if you are an NSF employee, unless you are a Presidential appointee whose appointment was subject to Senate confirmation. If you are such a Presidential appointee, you are subject only to the restrictions decribed in §683.44. You need not be concerned with the rest of this subpart except as it affects your colleagues and subordinates.

(d) Employee coverage. If you are subject to the "Hatch Act" restrictions, they apply even while you are on leave while you are on detail or assignment to a non-Federal post. They apply even if you work for the Government only part-time. If you work for the Government as a temporary employee, the restrictions apply as long as your temporary employment lasts. If you work for the Government as an intermittent employee, the restrictions apply only while you are in the active-duty status, but that includes the entire 24 hours of any day on which you work for the Government at all. (If in doubt about the employment category to which you belong, check with Personnel.)

(e) Political party. Any political party or political club, national or state, is a "political party" under this subpart, except where provisions specifically refer to a "national political party".

§ 683.41 Basic political rights unaffected.

The Hatch Act restrictions do not affect your basic political rights. Specifically:

(a) You may register and vote as you choose in any election.

(b) You may contribute to a political party or candidate, though you may not be pressured to do so because of your Federal employment.

(c) You may be a member of a political party or other political organization. You may attend party meetings and vote on issues. You may not, however, be involved in managing or leading the organization. See § 683.43.

(d) You may write, call, or visit any Federal, state, or local political official (including, for example, your Congressman) to express your views on any political issue and on how the official should vote or act on the issue.

(e) You may sign political petitions, including nominating petitions, but you may not circulate such petitions for others to sign. See § 683.42(d)(2).

§ 683.42 Candidacy and campaigns.

(a) Running for office. You may not run for nomination or election to public office. There are two exceptions:

(1) You may run in an election in which no candidate runs as representing any national political party. (Currently, this means the Democratic or Republican party, but if another party wins electoral votes in a Presidential election, that could change.)

(2) You may run for office in most of the local political jurisdictions in the Washington, DC area if you run as an independent not representing any political party, national or otherwise. (To be sure that your jurisdiction is among those in which this is permitted, check with an Ethics Counselor in the Office of the General Counsel.)

(b) No partisan campaigning. You may not campaign for or against a political party or candidate in an election for public office or in an election for party office. Essentially the same two exceptions apply:

(1) You may campaign for a candidate in an election in which no candidate runs as representing any national political party.

(2) If you could be an independent candidate in a local election described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, you may campaign for an independent candidate in such an election.

You may not campaign for any side of a question or issue that is specifically identified with a political party.

(c) What constitutes campaigning. You "campaign” when you:

(1) Actively participate in management of a campaign;

(2) Initiate nominating petitions or canvass for signatures on nominating petitions;

(3) Endorse or oppose a candidate or a position through political advertisements, broadcasts, campaign literature, or the like;

(4) Speak at rallies, candidate nights, party caucuses, or other political gatherings;

(5) Solicit campaign contributions, promote political dinners or similar events, sell tickets for such events, or otherwise participate in campaign fundraising;

(6) Help to handle campaign finances; (7) Distribute campaign material; (8) Host a coffee, cocktail party, or buffet for a candidate or a candidate's surrogate;

(9) Drive voters to the polls;

(10) Work at the polls as a checker, challenger, pollwatcher, or the like, or (11) Do any other work on behalf of a candidate.

(d) Nonpartisan election duties. In connection with an election, you may perform nonpartisan duties provided for by law as an election clerk, judge, or the like.

(e) Appointment to nonelective office. You may accept appointment to nonelective public office, subject to the same limits that apply to any other outside employment. See subpart C, §§ 683.30 through 683.36.

§683.43 Party activities.

You may not take an active part in leading or managing a political party. You do that when you:

(a) Participate in organizing or reorganizing it;

(b) Serve as a party officer or as a member of a national, state, or local party committee (or stand as a candidate for such a position);

(c) Participate in party fundraising or in handling party finances;

(d) Serve as a delegate, alternate, or proxy to a party convention (though you may attend such a convention); or (e) Take an active part in conducting or running a meeting, rally, fund-raising function, convention, or other

party gathering (though you may attend such a gathering).

§683.44 Political use of official authority or influence.

You must not use your official authority or influence for political purposes. Thus:

(a) You must not use your official position or authority to interfere with an election or to affect the result of an election.

(b) You must not solicit political contributions from other Federal employees, allow your name to appear on any fundraising appeal likely to be sent to Federal employees, or authorize anyone to solicit or receive political contributions in a building where Federal employees work.

Office of Personnel Management, 5 CFR 735.104.

SOURCE: 47 FR 32149, July 26, 1982, unless otherwise noted.

Subpart A-General Rules for Consultants, Board Members, and Other "Special Employees"

§684.10 "Special employees".

(a) Special employees. Any NSF consultant, National Science Board member, or other temporary or intermittent employee (including a rehired annuitant) who works or is expected to work for the NSF 130 days a year or less is a "special Government employee." The rules in this subpart apply to you only if you are such a "special employee". Other employees should see parts 680 through 683 of the NSF conflict-of-interests regulations.

(b) Days worked. If you have any uncertainty about how many days you work or are expected to work for the NSF, consult an ethics counselor in the Office of the General Counsel. There are specific rules for counting the days, and the rules that apply while you are still employed differ somewhat from those that apply afterward.

§ 684.11 Summary of rules for “special employees".

(a) This section summarizes the principal conflicts requirements that you are expected to observe as an NSF "special employee". It references the subsequent provisions of this subpart in which these requirements are elaborated. You are encouraged to read as well §§ 680.10 and 680.12, which introduce the NSF conflict-of-interests regulations and explain their purposes. Members of the National Science Board are committed to observe, besides the requirements summarized here, the special rules of the Board for its members. See subpart B, §§ 684.20 through 684.22.

(b) NSF work on proposals and awards of others. (1) If you serve on a panel that reviews proposals or otherwise serve as a peer reviewer, you will be given instructions designed to deal with any conflict of interests you may have.

(2) If you participate in action on proposals and awards as a National Science Board member, see § 684.21.

(3) If you should otherwise become involved with the handling of a proposal of other award-related application you should follow the same rules and procedures on conflicts or potential conflicts in handling proposals and awards as regular NSF employees. They are set out in part 681 of the NSF conflicts regulations, §§ 681.20 through 681.26.

(c) Financial disclosure (§ 684.12). (1) If you are compensated at a rate at or above the lowest rate for a GS-16 regular employee and plan to work or actually do work more than sixty days in any calendar year, you must file public Financial Disclosure Reports.

(2) If you are not required to file public Financial Disclosure Reports, you must file a confidential Statement of Financial Interests at the time of your appointment (or reappointment).

(3) You may ask for forms if you need them. Normally, however, they will be provided to you automatically, with instructions.

(d) Political activity (Hatch Act) (§ 684.13). The Hatch Act prohibits you from being involved in an election campaign or in political-party activity on any day when you work for the Government.

(e) Representational restrictions and involvement with proposals and awards during and after NSF service (§684.14). (1) You must never represent any private party in dealings with any Federal official on any proposal, project, or other matter if you have been personally involved with that matter at or for the NSF.

(2) If you have been employed with the NSF more than sixty days a year, you must not represent anyone in dealings with any NSF official during your NSF service and for one year thereafter on any proposal, project, or other matter involving specific parties.

General effect: These restrictions do not preclude you from preparing a proposal for your institution, from serving as principal investigator under an NSF proposal or award, from otherwise working under an NSF award, or from receiving compensation or expenses

out of an NSF award. If you are a member of the National Science Board, however, see §684.22.

(f) Compensation (§684.15). (1) While you are an NSF "special employee” you must not seek or accept (except from the Government) any compensation for services by you or anyone else in relation to any matter involving specific parties if you have been personally involved for the Government.

(2) If you have been employed with the NSF for more than sixty days in the last 365, you must not seek or accept (except from the Government) any compensation for services by you or anyone else in relation to any matter involving specific parties that is pending in the NSF.

(g) Acts affecting your financial interests (§684.16). You must not be personally involved as a Federal employee in the handling of any proposal, award, or other matter in which you, a member of your immediate family, a business partner, or an organization of which you are or may become a part has a financial interest. You will not violate this restriction with respect to proposals and awards as long as you follow the instructions provided in paragraph (b) of this section.

(h) Use of inside information (§ 684.17). If your work for the Government gives you access to information not generally available to the public, you must not use that information for your private benefit or make it available for the private benefit of any other person or organization.

(i) Effect of simplified wording. The wording of the requirements as presented in these regulations has been simplified substantially from the wording of underlying statutes and other authorities, so that they will be easier to understand. Your initial interpretation should be conservative. If in doubt on the meaning of terms or otherwise troubled, consult an ethics counselor in the Office of the General Counsel.

(j) General standards of conduct. You are also responsible for being familiar with general standards of conduct described in §680.18 of this chapter and for observing them.

§ 684.12 Financial disclosure.

(a) Unless you are required under paragraph (b) of this section to file public Financial Disclosure Reports, you must file a confidential Statement of Employment and Financial Interests at the time of your appointment (and of any reappointment). The Personnel Office automatically supplies you with the necessary forms, and you file the Statement there.

(b) High-ranking "special employees" who work more than sixty days a year. If you are compensated as a "special employee" at a rate at or above the lowest rate for a GS-16 regular employee, you are a "senior employee". Regular senior employees are required to file public Financial Disclosure Reports. You are required to do so, however, only if you plan to work or actually do work more than sixty days in any calendar year. Specifically:

(1) If at the time of your appointment you are expected to serve more than sixty days in any calendar year, you must file such a Report then and again within thirty days after your appointment ends.

(2) If you did not file at the time of your appointment, but do in fact serve more than sixty days in any calendar year, you must file such a Report within fifteen days of your sixty-first day of work and again within thirty days after your appointment ends.

(3) In either case, if you in fact serve more than sixty days in any calendar year, you must also file such a Report before May 15 of the next year.

A person who is under consideration for nomination to the National Science Board may be asked to file a Financial Disclosure Report with the White House or the Senate through the Office of Government Ethics as part of the clearance process even if not expected to serve more than sixty days a year. Such a Report will not be made public by the NSF.

(c) Filing of Financial Disclosure Reports. If you are required to file Financial Disclosure Reports, the necessary forms ordinarily will be sent to you automatically, with instructions. You should inquire, however, if you think you may go over the sixty-day limit, and you may ask for forms from the Office of the General Counsel whenever