Senate Bill 25-26-48
| Bill ID: | 25-26-48 |
| Name: | Revisions to the University of Maryland Policy on Financial Conflicts of Interest in Federally Funded Research, II-3.10(C) |
| Proposed: | 05/01/2026 |
| Sponsor: | Sarah Hughes, Assistant Director of Research Policy Compliance |
| Proposal: | In May 2025, the Office of the President and the Division of Research created and approved technical updates to the University of Maryland Procedures on Financial Conflicts of Interest in Public Health Service Funded Research (II-3.10[C]) (“the FCOI Policy”). The FCOI Policy is subordinate to the University of Maryland Policy on Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment (II-3.10[A]) (“the COI/COC Policy”), which was significantly revised in May 2025, and technical updates to the FCOI Policy were required to bring the two policies into alignment. The proposal states that, because the changes were urgently needed, the Division of Research did not have time to complete a holistic review of the policy or consider addressing broader issues in the policy. Beginning in summer 2025, the Division of Research undertook a broader review of the policy, finding additional areas of the policy that needed substantive revision due to changes in state and federal laws, regulations, and funding agency requirements as well as process changes given the move to inTERP. The FCOI Policy focuses on requirements related to financial conflicts of interests (FCOIs) in sponsored projects. The policy was created in 2012 specifically to address the U.S. Public Health Service regulations on FCOI. However, since 2012, other federal funding agencies have increasingly focused on conflicts of interest and have developed their own policies, regulations, and requirements related to FCOI. As a recipient of federal funding from various federal funding agencies, the University’s policies must reflect compliance with all state and federal laws, regulations, and funding agency requirements. The Division of Research, in consultation with the Office of General Counsel, determined that the FCOI Policy needed to be broadened to cover FCOI in sponsored projects from all federal funding agencies. The policy was revised to do so, and the title of the policy was changed to “University of Maryland Policy on Financial Conflicts of Interest in Federally Funded Research” as a result. The Disclosure and Conflict Management Guidelines will be updated to include information about the relevant funding agency regulations, policies, and requirements. The revisions to the policy were approved by the President on April 27, 2026 on an interim basis, pending Senate review. The Research Council has an existing charge on reviewing this policy related to technical updates made to the policy in May 2025: Senate Document #25-26-15, Technical & Legal Updates to the University of Maryland Procedures on Financial Conflicts of Interest in Public Health Service Funded Research (II-3.10[C]). It was shared in the proposal that the Research Council has not yet begun its review on this charge, and it intends to review the technical updates from May 2025 and these new revisions from April 2026 at the same time. The proposers suggest that for ease of reference and streamlined recordkeeping, the Senate Executive Committee may want to consider consolidating the review under one Senate Document Number by closing item #25-26-15 and combining those charge items into a new charge for this review. |
| Active? | Yes |
| Policy: | https://policies.umd.edu/faculty/university-of-maryland-procedures-on-financial-conflicts-of-interest-in-public-health-service-funded-research |
| Related Bills: |
Status
| Status: | Under Review |
| Reviewer: | Research Council |
| Received: | 2026-06-15 |
| Actions: | The Research Council will review the proposal and updated charge. |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2026-05-01 |
| Decision Date: | 2026-05-08 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to charge the Research Council with the review of the proposal; close Senate Document #25-26-15; and combine the charge elements for Senate Document #25-16-15 with the charge document for Senate Document #25-26-48. |
| Actions: | The Senate Executive Committee (SEC) will review the proposal at their May 8, 2026 meeting. |
| Next Step: | Research Council review |
| Related Files: |