§6392. Conflicts of interest

(a) Filing of written statements covering known financial interests

Each officer or employee of the Secretary or of the Department of the Interior who-

(1) performs any function or duty under this chapter; and

(2) has any known financial interest-

(A) in any person engaged in the business of exploring, developing, producing, refining, transporting by pipeline, or distributing (other than at the retail level) coal, natural gas, or petroleum products, or

(B) in property from which coal, natural gas, or crude oil is commercially produced;

shall, beginning on February 1, 1977, annually file with the Secretary or the Secretary of the Interior, as the case may be, a written statement disclosing all such interests held by such officer or employee during the preceding calendar year. Such statement shall be subject to examination, and available for copying, by the public upon request.

(b) Enforcement and monitoring of filing requirements; report to Congress

The Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior shall each-

(1) act, within 90 days after December 22, 1975, in accordance with section 553 of title 5-

(A) to define the term "known financial interest" for purposes of subsection (a) of this section; and

(B) to establish the methods by which the requirement to file written statements specified in subsection (a) of this section will be monitored and enforced, including appropriate provisions for the filing by such officers and employees of such statements and the review by the Secretary or the Secretary of the Interior, as the case may be, of such statements; and

(2) report to the Congress on June 1 of each calendar year with respect to such disclosures and the actions taken in regard thereto during the preceding calendar year.

(c) Exemption

In the rules prescribed in subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior each may identify specific positions, or classes thereof within the Federal Energy Administration or Department of the Interior, as the case may be, which are of a nonregulatory and nonpolicymaking nature and provide that officers or employees occupying such positions shall be exempt from the requirements of this section.

(d) Penalty

Any officer or employee who is subject to, and knowingly violates, subsection (a) of this section shall be fined not more than $2,500 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

( Pub. L. 94–163, title V, §522, Dec. 22, 1975, 89 Stat. 961 ; Pub. L. 95–91, title III, §301(a), title VII, §§703, 707, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 Stat. 577 , 606, 607; Pub. L. 95–619, title VI, §691(b)(2), Nov. 9, 1978, 92 Stat. 3288 .)

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), was in the original "this Act", meaning Pub. L. 94–163, Dec. 22, 1975, 89 Stat. 871 , as amended, known as the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6201 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

1978-Subsecs. (a) to (c). Pub. L. 95–619 substituted "Secretary" for "Administrator", meaning Administrator of the Federal Energy Administration, wherever appearing.

Transfer of Functions

"Secretary", meaning Secretary of Energy, substituted for "Federal Energy Administration" in subsec. (a) pursuant to sections 301(a), 703, and 707 of Pub. L. 95–91, which are classified to sections 7151(a), 7293, and 7297 of this title and which terminated Federal Energy Administration and transferred its functions (with certain exceptions) to Secretary of Energy.