By: Geren H.B. No. 504
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 504:
By: Davis of Harris C.S.H.B. No. 504
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the use of nonpublic information by former members of
the legislature; creating an offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.06, Penal Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 39.06. MISUSE OF OFFICIAL INFORMATION. (a) A public
servant commits an offense if, in reliance on information to which
the public servant has access by virtue of the person's office or
employment and that has not been made public, the person:
(1) acquires or aids another to acquire a pecuniary
interest in any property, transaction, or enterprise that may be
affected by the information;
(2) speculates or aids another to speculate on the
basis of the information; or
(3) as a public servant, including as a school
administrator, coerces another into suppressing or failing to
report that information to a law enforcement agency.
(b) A public servant commits an offense if with intent to
obtain a benefit or with intent to harm or defraud another, the
public servant [he] discloses or uses information for a
nongovernmental purpose that:
(1) the public servant [he] has access to by means of
the public servant's [his] office or employment; and
(2) has not been made public.
(c) A person commits an offense if, with intent to obtain a
benefit or with intent to harm or defraud another, the public
servant [he] solicits or receives from a public servant information
that:
(1) the public servant has access to by means of the
public servant's [his] office or employment; and
(2) has not been made public.
(c-1) This section applies to a former member of the
legislature for:
(1) the period concluding with the end of the
legislative cycle following the legislative cycle in which the
former member last served as a member of the legislature;
(2) information that has not been made public to which
the former member had access to during the former member's service
in the legislature; and
(3) any use in connection with activities that require
registration under Chapter 305, Government Code.
(d) In this section:
(1) [,]"information that has not been made public"
means any information to which the public does not generally have
access, and that is prohibited from disclosure under Chapter 552,
Government Code; and
(2) "Legislative cycle" means the two-year period
beginning on the first day of a regular legislative session and
ending on the day before the first day of the succeeding regular
legislative session.
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (f), an offense under
this section is a felony of the third degree.
(f) An offense:
(1) under Subsection (a)(3) is a Class C misdemeanor;
and
(2) by a public servant who is a former member of the
legislature is a Class A misdemeanor.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 8, 2019.