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<br />Preparedness Grants Manual
<br />Under 2 C.F.R. § 200.318(c)(1), non-federal entities other than states are required to maintain
<br />written standards of conduct covering conflicts of interest and governing the actions of their
<br />employees engaged in the selection, award, and administration of contracts. No employee, officer, or
<br />agent may participate in the selection, award, or administration of a contract supported by a federal
<br />award if he or she has a real or apparent conflict of interest. Such conflicts of interest would arise
<br />when the employee, officer or agent, any member of his or her immediate family, his or her partner,
<br />or an organization that employs or is about to employ any of the parties indicated herein, has a
<br />financial or other interest in or a tangible personal benefit from a firm considered for a contract. The
<br />officers, employees, and agents of the non-federal entity may neither solicit nor accept gratuities,
<br />favors, or anything of monetary value from contractors or parties to subcontracts. However, non-
<br />federal entities may set standards for situations in which the financial interest is not substantial, or
<br />the gift is an unsolicited item of nominal value. The standards of conduct must provide for
<br />disciplinary actions to be applied for violations of such standards by officers, employees, or agents of
<br />the non-federal entity.
<br />Under 2 C.F.R. § 200.318(c)(2), if the recipient or subrecipient (other than states) has a parent,
<br />affiliate, or subsidiary organization that is not an SLTT government, the non-federal entity must also
<br />maintain written standards of conduct covering organizational conflicts of interest. In this context,
<br />organizational conflict of interest means that because of a relationship with a parent company,
<br />affiliate, or subsidiary organization, the non-federal entity is unable or appears to be unable to be
<br />impartial in conducting a procurement action involving a related organization. The non-federal entity
<br />must disclose in writing any potential conflicts of interest to FEMA or the pass-through entity in
<br />accordance with applicable FEMA policy.
<br />6.6.3. SUPPLY SCHEDULES AND PURCHASING PROGRAMS
<br />Generally, a non-federal entity may seek to procure goods or services from a federal supply schedule,
<br />state supply schedule, or group purchasing agreement.
<br />6.6.4. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION SCHEDULES
<br />States, tribes, local governments, and any instrumentality thereof (such as local education agencies
<br />or institutions of higher education), may procure goods and services from a General Services
<br />Administration (GSA) schedule. GSA offers multiple efficient and effective procurement programs for
<br />SLTT governments, and instrumentalities thereof, to purchase products and services directly from
<br />pre-vetted contractors. The GSA schedules (also referred to as the Multiple Award Schedules and the
<br />Federal Supply Schedules) are long-term government-wide contracts with commercial firms that
<br />provide access to millions of commercial products and services at volume discount pricing.
<br />Information about GSA programs for states, tribes, and local governments, and instrumentalities
<br />thereof, can be found at the Programs for State and Local Governments and State and Local
<br />Governments pages on GSA.gov.
<br />For tribes, local governments, and their instrumentalities that purchase off of a GSA schedule, this
<br />will satisfy the federal requirements for full and open competition provided that the recipient follows
<br />the GSA ordering procedures; however, tribes, local governments, and their instrumentalities will still
<br />need to follow the other rules under 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.317–200.327, such as solicitation of minority
<br />businesses, women’s business enterprises, small businesses, or labor surplus area firms (§
<br />200.321), domestic preferences (§ 200.322), contract cost and price (§ 200.324), and required
<br />contract provisions (§ 200.327 and Appendix II).
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