1.04.040 Definitions

(a) "Act of Civil Disobedience" means a deliberate, but nonviolent act of law breaking to call attention to a particular law or set of laws believed by the lawbreaker to be of questionable legitimacy or morality.

(b) "Actual Conflict of Interest" occurs when an elected official takes official action that would financially impact the official, the official's immediate family, or a business with which the elected official or an immediate family member is associated.

(c) "Ceremonial and customary Gift" means a gift that is given to an Elected Official as a symbol of appreciation to the Tribe and not as a personal gift to the Elected Official.

(d) "Elected Official" means the three Tribal Chiefs, the three Tribal Sub-Chiefs, and the Tribal Clerk. It does not include elected Tribal Court judges who are subject to the ethical standards of the Tribe's Judicial Conduct Code.

(e) "Employment" includes professional services and other services rendered by an elected official, whether rendered as an employee, consultant or other independent contractor.

(f) "Ethics Commission" is a panel of five members and three alternates, entrusted to hear and impose sanctions on all matters relating to ethics in government.

(g) "Ethics Officer" is the person selected by the Tribe under this chapter to oversee and coordinate ethics violations. The position is a part-time, as needed basis position, not a full time position.

(h) "Executive Session" means a session of the Tribal Council that is closed to all persons except Tribal Council members and the Tribal Clerk, necessary staff as designated by the Tribal Council and the Tribal Clerk, and invitees. Tribal Council may meet in executive session to discuss matters involving personnel, litigation, negotiations, or confidentiality as deemed essential to a free and open discussion.

(i) "Favorable action" means the approval of a contract or agreement, award or a bid, granting of a business opportunity, negotiation on behalf of pursuant to government-to-government relations with federal, State, or local governments or agencies, or the extension of any economic benefit.

(j) "Fraud" means a knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act.

(k) "Frivolous" shall mean a complaint that is filed that is not supported by any credible evidence. For example, a complaint is frivolous if it is based upon hear say, a statement not corroborated by another credible witness, and/or is not supported by any written documents.

(l) "Gift" means anything of value based upon an understanding that one's official action may be influenced thereby. Gift does not include food and drink totaling less than $50 and ceremonial awards costing less than $100.

(m) "Immediate Family" means father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, grandparents, grandchildren, and any other person in a similar relationship, and any person living in the Tribal Council member's or Tribal Clerk's household.

(n) "Laws" means statutes, codes, ordinances, resolutions, directives, rules, policies and procedures that are now in effect and those that may be issued and in effect in the future.

(o) "Perjury" means the voluntary violation of an oath to tell the truth by swearing to what is untrue or by omission to do what has been promised under oath.

(p) "Personal Interest" for the purposes of this chapter means an action taken by a Tribal Council member or the Tribal Clerk which is intended to benefit the Tribal Council member or the Tribal Clerk and/or his or her immediate family rather than the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe or tribal membership as a whole.

(q) "Potential Conflict of Interest" occurs when an elected official takes official action that could financially impact the elected official, the official's immediate family or a business with which the elected official or an immediate family member is associated.

(r) "Serious Crime" means a felony or misdemeanor, not involving an act of civil disobedience, which involves an act of moral turpitude. Crimes of moral turpitude are crimes involving dishonesty such as larceny, fraud, murder for example.

(s) "Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe" means the federally recognized American Indian Tribe known as the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe with government offices at the Community Building, Akwesasne, New York.

(t) "Tribal Clerk" for the purposes of this chapter shall mean the duly elected Tribal Clerk in his/her official capacity.

(u) "Tribal Council" for the purposes of this chapter shall mean the duly elected Chiefs and Sub-Chiefs together in their official capacity.

(v) "Tribal Meeting" shall mean a regular scheduled monthly meeting of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council, the Tribal Clerk and with the tribal membership.

(w) "Valuables" mean items in excess of $20.00.