| 1 | 1 | | 89R18384 TYPED |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Shaheen H.B. No. 1555 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to the creation of a select interim committee to review and |
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| 10 | 10 | | make recommendations for substantive changes to ethics laws. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. INTERIM STUDY REGARDING ETHICS LAWS. (a) A |
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| 13 | 13 | | select interim committee is created to study and review the |
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| 14 | 14 | | statutes and regulations related to ethics, including campaign |
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| 15 | 15 | | finance laws, lobby laws, and personal financial disclosure laws. |
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| 16 | 16 | | (b) The study must consider: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (1) the purposes of the current laws and whether the |
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| 18 | 18 | | laws accomplish those purposes; |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2) the effectiveness of the current laws; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | (3) what changes, if any, should be made to more |
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| 21 | 21 | | effectively accomplish the purposes of the laws. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (c) The committee is composed of: |
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| 23 | 23 | | (1) four members appointed by the lieutenant governor |
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| 24 | 24 | | as follows: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (A) three senators, one of whom the lieutenant |
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| 26 | 26 | | governor shall designate as co-chair of the committee; and |
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| 27 | 27 | | (B) one member of the public; |
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| 28 | 28 | | (2) four members appointed by the speaker of the house |
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| 29 | 29 | | of representatives as follows: |
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| 30 | 30 | | (A) three state representatives, one of whom the |
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| 31 | 31 | | speaker shall designate as co-chair of the committee; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | (B) one member of the public; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | (3) the presiding officer of the Texas Ethics |
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| 34 | 34 | | Commission on the effective date of this Act. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (d) The committee shall convene at the call of the |
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| 36 | 36 | | co-chairs. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (e) The committee has all other powers and duties provided |
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| 38 | 38 | | to a special or select committee by the rules of the senate and the |
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| 39 | 39 | | house of representatives, by Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government |
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| 40 | 40 | | Code, and by policies of the senate and house committees on |
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| 41 | 41 | | administration. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (f) Not later than December 20, 2026, the committee shall |
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| 43 | 43 | | report the committee's findings and recommendations to the |
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| 44 | 44 | | lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, |
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| 45 | 45 | | and the governor. The committee shall include in its |
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| 46 | 46 | | recommendations specific statutory and rule changes that appear |
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| 47 | 47 | | necessary from the results of the committee's study under |
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| 48 | 48 | | Subsection (a) of this section. |
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| 49 | 49 | | (g) Not later than the 60th day after the effective date of |
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| 50 | 50 | | this Act, the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of |
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| 51 | 51 | | representatives shall appoint the members of the committee created |
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| 52 | 52 | | under this section. |
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| 53 | 53 | | (h) The Texas Legislative Council and the Texas Ethics |
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| 54 | 54 | | Commission shall provide any necessary staff and resources to the |
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| 55 | 55 | | committee created under this section. |
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| 56 | 56 | | SECTION 2. ABOLITION OF COMMITTEE. The committee is |
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| 57 | 57 | | abolished and this Act expires December 21, 2026. |
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| 58 | 58 | | SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September |
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| 59 | 59 | | 1, 2025. |
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