Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 36 - Technology › Part 2 - Information Systems Services › Chapter 10 - Procurement Policies › Rule 36-2-10-210.1 - 019-001 ITS Procurement Ethics › ITS Procurement Code of Conduct › Section 36-2-10-210.1-2 - Gifts and Gratuities

Current through June 25, 2024
2.1 ITS recognizes
					 there is a cost for vendors to provide IT hardware, software, and services to
					 government. ITS also recognizes that as the cost for a vendor to do business
					 increases, the cost for government to do business increases. ITS employees
					 strive to lower the cost of doing business wherever possible.
2.2 Acceptance of anything of tangible value
					 from a vendor contributes to the vendor's expenses and unnecessarily presents
					 an opportunity for misinterpretation of the relationship between the vendor and
					 the employee. Therefore, ITS procurement staff members do not accept any offer
					 of a product, service, or favor of tangible value from a vendor.
2.3 ITS procurement staff members refuse
					 gifts and gratuities, including but not limited to, money, credit, loans,
					 discounts not generally available, and entertainment. Some examples of
					 unacceptable gifts and offerings are listed below:
*
Free tickets to the theater, sports
						events, or other entertainment venues.
*
Paid travel costs or accommodations.
*
Gift cards or gift certificates.
2.4 ITS procurement staff
					 members do not accept offers of employment from any awarded vendor within one
					 year of the conclusion of a procurement process in which that vendor and staff
					 member mutually participated.
2.5
					 ITS procurement staff members do not solicit anything from vendors for any
					 reason. Examples include, but are not limited to:
*
Purchases by vendors from side businesses
						in which the staff member is involved
*
Donations by vendors for charitable
						and/or civic events or organizations in which the ITS employee and/or his/her
						immediate family is involved
*
Purchases by vendors from fund raisers in
						which ITS employees and/or their families are involved
2.6 ITS procurement staff may accept items of
					 nominal value offered by suppliers to a substantial number of their customers
					 for public relations purposes when there could be no perception of monetary
					 value, inappropriate influence, or other ethical breach. Examples might include
					 a t-shirt, pen, notepad, or other inexpensive trinket.
2.7 ITS procurement staff members may
					 sometimes be required to conduct business during meals or to participate in
					 modest hospitality as a courtesy in a business relationship. Staff members will
					 avoid frequent meals with the same vendor and avoid any situation in which
					 he/she might be perceived to have been influenced as a result of accepting or
					 participating in a particular vendor's hospitality. However, any and all vendor
					 contacts with ITS procurement staff and ITS customer staff must be discontinued
					 during any active procurement process in which the vendor is a potential
					 proposer for the customer's project and/or the ITS procurement staff member is
					 involved in the procurement project.
2.8 ITS procurement staff may participate in
					 lunch-and-learn and similar meetings sponsored by vendors.
2.9 ITS procurement staff members may
					 participate in raffles or drawings held by vendors in public forums but will
					 not encourage or initiate a vendor raffle.