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Senate Bill 1368 |
Senate Author: Shapleigh |
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Effective: 9-1-09 |
House Sponsor: Marquez |
Senate Bill 1368 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the commissioners court of a county that has a population of 650,000, is located on the international border, and had a county ethics board appointed by the commissioners court before September 1, 2009, to create a county ethics commission by order or to hold an election on the creation of such a commission whose duty it is to adopt, publish, and enforce an ethics code governing county public servants. The bill sets forth the composition, manner of appointment and appointing authorities, eligibility criteria for membership, terms, grounds for removal from office, and other procedural matters regarding the commission's operation as well as its general powers and duties. The bill authorizes the commission, on request of any person covered by the ethics code, to issue an ethics advisory opinion regarding the application of the ethics code to a specified existing or hypothetical factual situation. The bill requires the commission to provide training for persons covered by the ethics code on at least a quarterly basis, adopt complaint procedures and hearings, and keep an information file about complaints filed with the commission. The bill also requires a lobbyist intending to meet with a person covered by the ethics code to complete training on the code.
The bill authorizes an individual to file with the commission a sworn complaint alleging an ethics code violation and prohibits the commission from investigating a matter outside the commission's jurisdiction or any matter except in response to a sworn complaint. The bill provides for a preliminary review and, if necessary, a formal hearing of each sworn complaint filed with the commission and authorizes the commission to issue a subpoena in connection with such a review or hearing. If a complaint filed with the commission is within the commission's jurisdiction but may also be brought under the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement, a civil service rule, or a rule of the sheriff's department, the bill requires the commission to defer jurisdiction over the complaint to the sheriff, who, under certain circumstances, may return the complaint to the commission for further proceeding. As soon as practicable after the commission determines that a person has committed an ethics code violation, the commission must make available on the Internet a copy or summary of the commission's order stating the determination. The bill prohibits retaliation against a county employee for reporting a violation of the ethics code. The bill exempts certain information and actions of the committee from open meetings and public information provisions of law.
The bill makes it a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of not less than $25 or more than $4,000, confinement in the county jail for not less than three days or more than three months, or both fine and confinement for a person to intentionally destroy, mutilate, or alter or remove without permission information relating to an ethics code violation. The bill makes certain misuses of confidential information a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, confinement in the county jail for not more than six months, or both fine and confinement. Additionally, the bill establishes that a violation of such confidentiality of information constitutes official misconduct and makes a county employee who discloses confidential information subject to discipline, including termination of employment.
The bill authorizes the commission to issue and enforce a cease and desist order to stop a violation, issue an affirmative order to require compliance with the laws administered and enforced by the commission, and issue an order of public censure. The bill authorizes the commission to impose a civil penalty of not more than $500 for each delay in complying with a commission order and to impose a civil penalty of not more than $4,000 for a violation of the ethics code adopted by the commission or for the filing of a frivolous or bad faith complaint. The bill allows a respondent to appeal a commission decision by filing a petition in a county district court within 30 days after the date of the decision and authorizes the court to order appropriate relief if it renders judgment for the petitioner.