84R243 CAE-D
By: Larson H.B. No. 159
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the reimbursement of state funds used on out-of-state
travel by elected officers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 5, Government Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 576 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 576. REIMBURSEMENT FOR STATE-FUNDED TRAVEL AND SECURITY
Sec. 576.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Ethics Commission.
(2) "Elected officer" means a member of the
legislature or the holder of an office of state government that is
voted on statewide, including a person appointed to fill a vacancy
in such an office.
Sec. 576.002. DISCLOSURE OF STATE-FUNDED TRAVEL OUTSIDE
THIS STATE. (a) An elected officer who uses any state funds for
transportation or security for travel outside this state shall file
a disclosure with the commission. A disclosure filed under this
chapter must be filed electronically.
(b) The disclosure must include:
(1) the dates on which the travel occurred;
(2) the locations where the travel occurred;
(3) the cost of the travel;
(4) the purpose of the travel; and
(5) the use to which the state-funded transportation
or security personnel was put.
Sec. 576.003. FILING DEADLINE. An elected officer shall
file a disclosure under this chapter not later than July 15 for
travel ending on or after January 1 and on or before June 30. An
elected officer shall file the disclosure not later than January 15
for travel ending on or after July 1 and on or before December 31 of
the previous year.
Sec. 576.004. COMMISSION REVIEW; REIMBURSEMENT. (a) The
commission shall review the disclosure not later than the 90th day
after the date the disclosure is filed.
(b) Not later than the 10th day after the date a review is
completed under Subsection (a), the commission shall send written
notice to the elected officer stating whether the commission
determined that the state-funded transportation or security was
used for official state business.
(c) An elected officer receiving notice under Subsection
(b) that the transportation or security was not used for official
state business shall reimburse the state for the cost of the travel
plus interest calculated at a rate equal to inflation.
SECTION 2. Section 571.061(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall administer and enforce:
(1) Chapters 302, 303, 305, 572, 576, and 2004;
(2) Subchapter C, Chapter 159, Local Government Code,
in connection with a county judicial officer, as defined by Section
159.051, Local Government Code, who elects to file a financial
statement with the commission;
(3) Title 15, Election Code; and
(4) Sections 2152.064 and 2155.003.
SECTION 3. Section 571.091(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall prepare a written opinion
answering the request of a person subject to any of the following
laws for an opinion about the application of any of these laws to
the person in regard to a specified existing or hypothetical
factual situation:
(1) Chapter 302;
(2) Chapter 303;
(3) Chapter 305;
(4) Chapter 2004;
(5) Chapter 572;
(6) Subchapter C, Chapter 159, Local Government Code,
as provided by Section 571.061(a)(2);
(7) Title 15, Election Code;
(8) Chapter 36, Penal Code;
(9) Chapter 39, Penal Code;
(10) Section 2152.064; [or]
(11) Section 2155.003; or
(12) Chapter 576.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to travel beginning on or after September 1, 2015. Travel beginning
before September 1, 2015, is governed by the law in effect on the
date the travel began, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.