By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1682
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain ethics requirements applicable to state
agencies, including required disclosures by state contractors.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 2263, Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2263. ETHICS AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE
AGENCIES AND CONTRACTORS WITH STATE AGENCEIES [OUTSIDE FINANCIAL
ADVISORS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS]
SECTION 2. Chapter 2263, Government Code, is amended by
designating Sections 2263.001 through 2263.006 as Subchapter A and
adding a heading to Subchapter A to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A. ETHICS AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR OUTSIDE
FINANCIAL ADVISORS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS
SECTION 3. Sections 2263.001, 2263.002, 2263.003, and
2263.006, Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2263.001. APPLICABILITY. (a) This subchapter
[chapter] applies in connection with the management or investment
of any state funds managed or invested:
(1) under the Texas Constitution or other law,
including Chapters 404 and 2256; and
(2) by or for:
(A) a public retirement system as defined by
Section 802.001 that provides service retirement, disability
retirement, or death benefits for officers or employees of the
state;
(B) an institution of higher education as defined
by Section 61.003, Education Code; or
(C) another entity that is part of state
government and that manages or invests state funds or for which
state funds are managed or invested.
(b) This subchapter [chapter] applies in connection with
the management or investment of state funds without regard to
whether the funds are held in the state treasury.
(c) This subchapter [chapter] does not apply to or in
connection with a state governmental entity that does not manage or
invest state funds and for which state funds are managed or invested
only by the comptroller.
Sec. 2263.002. DEFINITION. In this subchapter [chapter],
"financial advisor or service provider" includes a person or
business entity who acts as a financial advisor, financial
consultant, money or investment manager, or broker.
Sec. 2263.003. CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER LAW. To the extent
of a conflict between this subchapter [chapter] and another law,
the law that imposes a stricter ethics or disclosure requirement
controls.
Sec. 2263.006. PUBLIC INFORMATION. Chapter 552 controls
the extent to which information contained in a statement filed
under this subchapter [chapter] is subject to required public
disclosure or excepted from required public disclosure.
SECTION 4. Chapter 2263, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapters B and C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B. MODEL ETHICS POLICY FOR STATE AGENCIES
Sec. 2263.051. MODEL ETHICS POLICY FOR STATE AGENCIES. A
state agency shall use the following model policy in adopting an
agency ethics policy under Section 572.051(c):
I. OVERVIEW.
Under Section 572.051(c), Government Code, the (agency)
adopts the following ethics policy:
This ethics policy prescribes standards of conduct for all
(agency) employees.
This ethics policy does not supersede any applicable federal
or Texas law or administrative rule.
All (agency) employees must familiarize themselves with this
ethics policy.
All (agency) employees must abide by all applicable federal
and Texas laws, administrative rules, and (agency) conduct
policies, including this ethics policy. An (agency) employee who
violates any provision of the (agency's) conduct policies is
subject to termination of the employee's state employment or
another employment-related sanction. An (agency) employee who
violates any applicable federal or Texas law or rule may be subject
to civil or criminal penalties in addition to any
employment-related sanction.
II. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT.
A. An (agency) employee may not:
(1) accept or solicit any gift, favor, or service
that might reasonably tend to influence the employee in the
discharge of official duties, or that the employee knows or should
know is being offered with the intent to influence the employee's
official conduct;
(2) intentionally or knowingly solicit, accept,
or agree to accept any benefit for having exercised the employee's
official powers or performed the employee's official duties in
favor of another;
(3) disclose confidential information,
information that is excepted from public disclosure under the Texas
Public Information Law, or information that has been ordered sealed
by a court that was acquired by the employee through the employee's
official position;
(4) accept other employment, including
self-employment, or engage in a business, charity, nonprofit
organization, or professional activity that the employee might
reasonably expect would require or induce the employee to disclose
confidential information, information that is excepted from public
disclosure under the Texas Public Information Law, or information
that has been ordered sealed by a court that was acquired by the
employee through the employee's official position;
(5) accept other employment, including
self-employment, or compensation or engage in a business, charity,
nonprofit organization, or professional activity that could
reasonably be expected to impair the employee's independence of
judgment in the performance of the employee's official duties;
(6) make personal investments, or have a personal
or financial interest, that could reasonably be expected to create
a substantial conflict between the employee's private interest and
the public interest;
(7) use state, time, property, facilities, or
equipment for any purpose other than official state business,
unless the use is reasonable and incidental and does not result in
any direct cost to the state or (agency), interfere with the
employee's official duties, or interfere with (agency) functions;
(8) use the employee's official position or
state-issued items, including a badge, indicating the employee's
position for financial gain, to obtain privileges, or to avoid
consequences of illegal acts;
(9) knowingly make misleading statements, either
oral or written, or provide false information in the course of
official state business; or
(10) engage in any political activity while on
state time or use state resources for any political activity.
B. An (agency) employee shall:
(1) perform the employee's official duties in a
lawful, professional, and ethical manner befitting the state and
(agency); and
(2) report any conduct or activity that the
employee believes to be in violation of this ethics policy to
(agency designee).
Sec. 2263.052. MODEL ETHICS POLICY PROVISIONS FOR
REGULATORY AGENCIES. Except as otherwise provided by law, a
regulatory agency shall use the following model policy provisions
in adopting an agency ethics policy that meets the standards of
Section 572.054(b):
REGULATORY AGENCIES.
(1) In this ethics policy:
(a) "Business entity" means any entity
recognized by law through which business for profit is conducted,
including a sole proprietorship, partnership, firm, corporation,
holding company, joint stock company, receivership, or trust.
(b) "Participated" means to have taken action
through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, giving of
advice, investigation, or similar action.
(c) "Particular matter" means a specific
investigation, application, request for a ruling or determination,
rulemaking proceeding, contract, claim, accusation, charge,
arrest, or judicial or other proceeding.
(d) "Regulatory agency" means a department,
commission, board, or other agency, other than the secretary of
state or the comptroller of public accounts, that:
(i) is in the executive branch of state
government;
(ii) has authority that is not limited to a
geographical portion of this state;
(iii) was created by the Texas Constitution
or a statute of this state; and
(iv) has constitutional or statutory
authority to engage in regulation.
(2) A former employee of the (agency) who was
compensated, as of the last date of state employment, at or above
the amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for step 1,
salary group A17, of the position classification salary schedule
may not represent any person or entity, or receive compensation for
services rendered on behalf of any person or entity, regarding a
particular matter in which the former employee participated during
the period of state service or employment, either through personal
involvement or because the case or proceeding was a matter within
the employee's official responsibility.
(3) Subsection (2) of this policy does not apply to a
rulemaking proceeding that was conducted before the date the
employee's service or employment ceased.
(4) Notwithstanding Subsection (1)(d) of this policy,
Subsection (2) of this policy applies to employees of the secretary
of state and the comptroller of public accounts.
(5) An association or organization of employees of the
(agency) may not solicit, accept, or agree to accept anything of
value from:
(a) a business entity regulated by the (agency)
and from which the business entity must obtain a permit to operate
the entity's business in this state; or
(b) an individual directly or indirectly
connected with a business entity regulated by the (agency) and from
which the business entity must obtain a permit to operate the
entity's business in this state.
SUBCHAPTER C. ETHICS AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS
FOR CONTRACTORS
Sec. 2263.101. REQUIRED CONTRACTOR DISCLOSURE STATEMENT;
STATE AGENCY EMPLOYEES. Before entering into a contract with the
state, a contractor and subcontractor and must disclose each
employee:
(1) who was employed by:
(A) the state at any time during the two years
preceding the date of the disclosure and is now employed by the
contractor or subcontractor; or
(B) the contractor or subcontractor at any time
during the year preceding the date of the disclosure and is now
employed by the state; and
(2) who is materially involved in the development of
the contract terms or the management of the contract.
Sec. 2263.102. REQUIRED CONTRACTOR DISCLOSURE STATEMENT;
OUTSOURCING. (a) Each contract entered into by a state agency must
include a provision requiring disclosure of any services materially
necessary to fulfill the contract, including services performed by
a subcontractor, that will be or are performed in a country other
than the United States. This section does not apply to services
that are occasional, minor, or incidental to fulfilling the
contract.
(b) The contract must include a provision allowing the state
agency to terminate the contract and solicit a new contract, expect
as provided by Subsection (d), if:
(1) the contractor or a subcontractor of the
contractor performs a service materially necessary to fulfill the
contract in a country other than the United States; and
(2) the contractor does not disclose in the contract
that the service will be performed in a country other than the
United States.
(c) A state agency that decides not to solicit a new
contract under circumstances in which the agency is authorized to
do so under a contract provision required by Subsection (b) shall
report this decision to:
(1) the governor;
(2) the lieutenant governor;
(3) the speaker of the house of representatives;
(4) the Contract Advisory Team.
(d) A contractor may replace a subcontractor without
termination of a contract under this section if the contractor
determines that the subcontractor is performing a service
materially necessary to fulfill the contract in a country other
than the United States and did not disclose that fact to the
contractor.
Sec. 2263.103. CONTRACTOR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. (a) Each
contractor who responds to a state agency's contract solicitation
shall disclose in its response all potential conflicts of interest
to the agency.
(b) The Contract Advisory Team shall develop guidelines to
aid contractors and state agencies in identifying potential
conflicts of interest.
SECTION 5. (a) Section 2263.101, Government Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to a contract for which a state agency
first advertises or otherwise solicits bids, proposals, offers, or
qualifications on or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) Section 2263.103(a), Government Code, as added by this
Act, applies only in relation to a contract for which a state agency
first solicits bids, proposals, offers, or qualifications on or
after the date that the Contract Advisory Team's guidelines
regarding potential conflicts of interest take effect.
(c) A state agency is not required to comply with Section
2263.102, Government Code, as added by this Act, before September
1, 2015.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect November 1, 2013.