86R16616 BRG-D
By: Creighton S.B. No. 13
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the ethics of public officials, including restrictions
relating to lobbying and the personal financial statements of
public officials; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 141.001, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read
as follows:
(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or
appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:
(1) be a United States citizen;
(2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the
term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as
applicable;
(3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a
court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the
right to vote;
(4) have not been finally convicted of a felony from
which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from
the resulting disabilities;
(5) have resided continuously in the state for 12
months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six
months immediately preceding the following date:
(A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a
general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing
deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;
(B) for an independent candidate, the date of the
regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place
on the ballot;
(C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the
election at which the candidate's name is written in;
(D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any
method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is
made; and
(E) for an appointee to an office, the date the
appointment is made;
(6) on the date described by Subdivision (5), be
registered to vote in the territory from which the office is
elected; [and]
(7) not be required to be registered as a lobbyist
under Chapter 305, Government Code; and
(8) satisfy any other eligibility requirements
prescribed by law for the office.
(e) Except as restricted by Section 7.103(c), Education
Code, if applicable, Subsection (a)(7) does not apply to:
(1) an office of a political subdivision with a
population of 150,000 or less, other than the office of presiding
officer of the governing body of the political subdivision,
provided that the officeholder does not receive a salary or wage for
that office; or
(2) the office of the presiding officer of the
governing body of a political subdivision with a population of
50,000 or less, provided that the presiding officer does not
receive a salary or wage for that office.
(f) For purposes of Subsection (e), a presiding officer or
other officeholder is not considered to have received a salary or
wage if the officeholder refuses to accept a salary or wage offered
or budgeted for that office.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 305, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 305.0031 to read as follows:
Sec. 305.0031. CERTAIN ELECTED OFFICERS MAY NOT REGISTER.
(a) A member of Congress, a member of the legislature, or a holder
of a statewide office may not register under this chapter.
(b) A registration under this chapter expires on the date a
person takes office as a member of Congress, a member of the
legislature, or a holder of a statewide office.
SECTION 3. Section 572.032, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(a) Financial statements filed under this subchapter are
public records. The commission shall maintain the statements in
separate alphabetical files and in a manner that is accessible to
the public during regular office hours and make the statements
available to the public on the commission's Internet website not
later than the second business day after the date the statement is
filed.
(d) The commission is not required to continue to make a
financial statement available on its Internet website after the
second anniversary of the date the statement is filed.
SECTION 4. Section 572.032(a-1), Government Code, as
amended by Chapters 34 (S.B. 1576) and 983 (H.B. 776), Acts of the
85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, is reenacted and amended
to read as follows:
(a-1) The commission shall remove the home address, the
telephone number, and the names of the dependent children of an
individual from a financial statement filed by the individual under
this subchapter before:
(1) permitting a member of the public to view the
statement;
(2) providing a copy of the statement to a member of
the public; or
(3) making the statement available to the public on
the commission's Internet website[, if the commission makes
statements filed under this subchapter available on its website].
SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 572, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 572.062 to read as follows:
Sec. 572.062. FORMER LEGISLATOR: LOBBYING RESTRICTED;
CRIMINAL OFFENSE. (a) In this section:
(1) "Administrative action," "communicates directly
with," "legislation," "member of the executive branch," and "member
of the legislative branch" have the meanings assigned by Section
305.002.
(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.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a former member of
the legislature may not engage in activities that require
registration under Chapter 305 before the end of the legislative
cycle following the legislative cycle in which the former member
last served as a member of the legislature.
(c) Subsection (b) does not apply to a former member of the
legislature who does not receive compensation other than
reimbursement for actual expenses for communicating directly with a
member of the legislative or executive branch to influence
legislation or administrative action.
(d) A former member of the legislature who violates this
section commits an offense. An offense under this section is a
Class A misdemeanor.
SECTION 6. Chapter 601, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 601.010 to read as follows:
Sec. 601.010. ELECTED OFFICER MAY NOT BE REGISTERED
LOBBYIST. (a) A person may not qualify for a public elective
office if the person is required to be registered as a lobbyist
under Chapter 305.
(b) Except as restricted by Section 7.103(c), Education
Code, if applicable, Subsection (a) does not apply to:
(1) an office for which the federal or state
constitution prescribes exclusive qualification requirements;
(2) an office of a political subdivision with a
population of 150,000 or less, other than the office of presiding
officer of the governing body of the political subdivision,
provided that the officeholder does not receive a salary or wage for
that office; or
(3) the office of the presiding officer of the
governing body of a political subdivision with a population of
50,000 or less, provided that the presiding officer does not
receive a salary or wage for that office.
(c) For purposes of Subsection (b), a presiding officer or
other officeholder is not considered to have received a salary or
wage if the officeholder refuses to accept a salary or wage offered
or budgeted for that office.
SECTION 7. Section 141.001(a), Election Code, as amended by
this Act, and Section 601.010, Government Code, as added by this
Act, apply only to the eligibility and qualification requirements
for a candidate or officer whose term of office will begin on or
after January 12, 2021. The eligibility and qualification
requirements for a candidate or officer whose term of office will
begin before January 12, 2021, are governed by the law in effect
immediately before January 12, 2021, and that former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
572, Government Code, apply only to a financial statement filed on
or after September 1, 2019. A financial statement filed before
September 1, 2019, is governed by the law in effect on the date the
financial statement was filed, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 9. Section 572.062, Government Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to a member of the legislature who ceases to
be a member on or after September 1, 2019.
SECTION 10. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
(b) Section 141.001(a), Election Code, as amended by this
Act, and Section 601.010, Government Code, as added by this Act,
take effect January 12, 2021.