Adequate evidence means information sufficient to support the reasonable belief that a particular act or omission has occurred.

Persons are affiliates of each other if, directly or indirectly, either one controls or has the power to control the other or a third person controls or has the power to control both. The ways a Federal agency may determine control include, but are not limited to:

(a) Interlocking management or ownership;

(b) Identity of interests among family members;

(c) Shared facilities and equipment;

(d) Common use of employees; or

(e) A business entity organized following the exclusion of a person with the same or similar management, ownership, or principal employees as the excluded person.

Agent or representative means any person who acts on behalf of or who is authorized to commit a participant in a covered transaction.

Civil judgment means the disposition of a civil action by any court of competent jurisdiction, whether by verdict, decision, settlement, stipulation, or other disposition which creates a civil liability for the complained of wrongful acts or a final determination of liability under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (31 U.S.C. 3801-3812).

Conviction means:

(a) A judgment or any other determination of guilt of a criminal offense by any court of competent jurisdiction, whether entered upon a verdict or plea, including a plea of nolo contendere; or

(b) Any other resolution that is the functional equivalent of a judgment, including probation before judgment and deferred prosecution. A disposition without the participation of the court is the functional equivalent of a judgment only if it includes an admission of guilt.

Debarment means an action taken by a debarring official under subpart H of this part to exclude a person from participating in covered transactions and transactions covered under the Federal Acquisition Regulations (48 CFR chapter 1). A person so excluded is debarred.

Debarring official means a Federal agency official who is authorized to impose debarment. A debarring official is either:

(a) The agency head; or

(b) An official designated by the agency head.

Disqualified means that a person is prohibited from participating in specified Federal procurement or nonprocurement transactions as required under a statute, Executive order (other than Executive Orders 12549 and 12689), or other authority. Examples of disqualifications include persons prohibited under—

(a) The Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 3142);

(b) The equal employment opportunity acts and Executive orders; or

(c) The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7606), Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1368), and Executive Order 11738 (38 FR 25161).

Excluded or exclusion means:

(a) That a person or commodity is prohibited from being a participant in covered transactions, whether the person has been suspended; debarred; proposed for debarment under 48 CFR part 9, subpart 9.4; voluntarily excluded; or

(b) The act of excluding a person.

System for Award Management (SAM.gov) Exclusions means the list maintained and disseminated by the General Services Administration (GSA) containing the names and other information about ineligible persons.

Federal agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other executive branch agency. For the purposes of this part, other agencies of the Federal Government are not considered “agencies” unless they issue regulations adopting the government-wide Debarment and Suspension system under Executive Orders 12549 and 12689.

Indictment means an indictment for a criminal offense. A presentment, information, or other filing by a competent authority charging a criminal offense will be given the same effect as an indictment.

Ineligible or ineligibility means that a person or commodity is prohibited from covered transactions because of an exclusion or disqualification.

Legal proceeding means any criminal proceeding or any civil judicial proceeding, including a proceeding under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (31 U.S.C. 3801-3812), to which the Federal Government or a State or local government or quasi-governmental authority is a party. The term also includes appeals from those proceedings.

(a) Nonprocurement transaction means any transaction, regardless of type (except procurement contracts), including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Grants;

(2) Cooperative agreements;

(3) Scholarships;

(4) Fellowships;

(5) Contracts of assistance;

(6) Loans;

(7) Loan guarantees;

(8) Subsidies;

(9) Insurances;

(10) Payments for specified uses; and

(11) Donation agreements.

(b) A nonprocurement transaction at any tier does not require the transfer of Federal funds.

Notice means a written communication served in person, sent by certified mail or its equivalent, or sent electronically by email or facsimile. (See § 180.615.)

Participant means any person who submits a proposal for or enters into a covered transaction, including an agent or representative of a participant.

Person means any individual, corporation, partnership, association, unit of government, or legal entity, regardless of how organized.

Preponderance of the evidence means proof by information that, compared with information opposing it, leads to the conclusion that the fact at issue is more probably true than not.

Principal means:

(a) An officer, director, owner, partner, principal investigator, or another person within a participant with management or supervisory responsibilities related to a covered transaction; or

(b) A consultant or other person, whether or not employed by the participant or paid with Federal funds, who:

(1) Is in a position to handle Federal funds;

(2) Is in a position to influence or control the use of those funds; or,

(3) Occupies a technical or professional position capable of substantially influencing the development or outcome of an activity required to perform the covered transaction.

Respondent means a person against whom a Federal agency has initiated a debarment or suspension action.

(a) State means:

(1) Any of the states of the United States;

(2) The District of Columbia;

(3) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;

(4) Any territory or possession of the United States; or

(5) Any agency or instrumentality of a State.

(b) For purposes of this part, State does not include institutions of higher education, hospitals, or units of local government.

(a) Suspending official means a Federal agency official authorized to impose suspension. The suspending official is either:

(1) The agency head; or

(2) An official designated by the agency head.

Suspension is an action taken by a suspending official under subpart G of this part that immediately prohibits a person from participating in covered transactions and transactions covered under the Federal Acquisition Regulations (48 CFR chapter 1) for a temporary period, pending completion of a Federal agency investigation and any judicial or administrative proceedings that may ensue. A person so excluded is suspended.

(a) Voluntary exclusion means a person's agreement to be excluded under the terms of a settlement between the person and one or more agencies. Voluntary exclusion must have a government-wide effect.

(b) Voluntarily excluded means the status of a person who has agreed to a voluntary exclusion.