The legislature has passed stringent laws that make it a crime for any corporation's board members to vote if they have a conflict of interest.  That means everyone from Exxon and city or borough Assemblies, right down to small charitable groups.   And the small boards that I'm on observe this rule carefully.

But this same legislature, in its wisdom, allows members to vote even if they have a gross conflict of interest!  That's how we got the current special deals for oil companies:  two legislators who are also executives of a big oil company cast the deciding votes.

We still need to rein in these "corrupt bastards."  (Not my insult-- some gave that name to themselves a few years ago.)