Sec. 1. 17 MRSA §3104, as amended by PL 1975, c. 771, §164, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

§3104.__Conflicts of interest; purchases by State

1.__Prohibition.__An employee of the State or any other person holding a place of trust with the State may not have any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in, or otherwise receive or be eligible to receive, directly or indirectly, any benefit that may arise therefrom, any contract made in behalf of the State.

2.__State defined.__As used in this section, "State" means the State of Maine or any office, department, agency, authority, commission, board, institution, hospital or other instrumentality thereof.

3.__Violative contract void.__Any contract made in violation of this section is void.

4.__Exemptions.__This section does not apply to:

A.__Purchases of the State by the Governor under authority of Title 1, section 814; and

B.__Contracts made with a corporation that has issued shares to the public for the general benefit of that corporation.

SUMMARY

This bill revises the language of the existing prohibition against conflicts of interest in state purchases to more clearly prohibit the State and its employees and agents from providing services for fees or from undertaking enterprises that compete with private industry.