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House Bill 3736 |
House Author: Davis, Sarah et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Huffman |
House Bill 3736 amends the Government Code to require a state agency governing board member or officer, in each matter before the governing board of the state agency or the officer who governs the agency, to disclose in writing a conflict of interest, as defined by the bill, to the agency and to prohibit the member or officer from participating in the decision on the matter, with certain exceptions. The bill establishes that such a written disclosure is public information and requires a state agency that receives such a disclosure to file a copy of the disclosure with the Texas Ethics Commission. The bill makes it a misdemeanor for such a board member or officer to knowingly fail to disclose a conflict of interest or fail to refrain from participating in the decision on the matter.
Current law requires the personal financial statement of a state officer, a candidate for an office as an elected officer, and a state party chair filed with the commission to include an account of the financial activity of not only the individual required to file such a statement but also the individual's spouse and dependent children, if the individual had actual control over that activity. The bill revises that provision to remove the requirement that the statement include the account of the financial activity of the individual's spouse, to condition the requirement to include an account of the financial activity of the individual's dependent children on the individual exercising or holding the right to exercise any degree of legal or factual control over that activity, to include in the required statement an account of financial activity regarding certain separate and community property, and to provide for the amendment of the statement. Among other provisions related to the account of financial activity, the bill requires the account to include the identification of certain contracts for the sale of goods and services exceeding specified monetary amounts, identification of specified information about each issuance for which a member of the legislature served as bond counsel, and identification of any other source of earned or unearned income not otherwise reported.
Reason Given for Veto: "At the beginning of this legislative session, I called for meaningful ethics reform. This legislation does not accomplish that goal. Provisions in this bill would reduce Texans' trust in their elected officials, and I will not be a part of weakening our ethics laws. Serious ethics reform must be addressed next session–the right way. Texans deserve better."