What are conflicts of interest? Conflicts of interest are when the interests of members in a deliberative body are in conflict with the interests of the organization or the people’s interests that the organization represents. This conflict in interests makes it difficult for individuals in a deliberative body to make a decision that is impartial, representative, and fair. To ethically resolve these issues, conflicts of interest should be recorded and addressed. When a conflict of interest arises, affected members of the deliberative body are expected to recuse themselves from decision making. In select circumstances, there are rules, such as in the 1974 Political Reform Act, where members are “legally required to participate” in order to hit quorum. This is very rarely done, but interesting to see happen.

For the purposes of Associated Students, the form linked below contains the standing policy ASUCSB uses to navigate conflicts of interest. It also includes addendums from Attorney General Carlson’s (2024-2025) office based on historical data in which some people reported things like boyfriends and girlfriends. At the end of the day, members of a deliberative body may recuse themselves at any point if they feel uncomfortable in deliberating main motions—regardless of when a conflict of interest is engaged. When conflicts of interest are engaged, members have a moral, ethical, and legal basis to recuse themselves from deliberation.