By:  Rosson                                            S.B. No. 742
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to the rulemaking authority of the Ethics Commission.
    1-2        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-3        SECTION 1.  Article 6252-9d Section 1.11 of the Revised Civil
    1-4  Statutes of the State of Texas is amended by adding subsections (g)
    1-5  and (h) to read as follows:
    1-6        (g)  The Commission shall promulgate rules requiring persons
    1-7  to report monetary and other transactions in a manner that will
    1-8  fairly inform the public of the nature of the transactions.  The
    1-9  Commission shall not promulgate any rule or construe any provision
   1-10  of Article 6252-9b, Title 15 of the Election Code, Chapter 305 of
   1-11  the Government Code or Chapter 36 or 39 of the Penal Code in such a
   1-12  way as to thwart the purpose of providing the public with clear
   1-13  information.  The Commission may not impose a penalty upon a person
   1-14  required to file a report, based upon the inadequacy of the report,
   1-15  if the report:
   1-16                                         (i)  is timely filed.
   1-17                                         (ii)  conforms with
   1-18  applicable law, and
   1-19                                         (iii)  is substantially
   1-20  complete.
   1-21        (h)  A substantially complete report includes, but is not
   1-22  limited to, a report filed in good faith that:
   1-23                                         (i)  lists at least 95% of
    2-1  the amounts required to be reported.
    2-2                                         (ii)  lists at least 95% of
    2-3  the entities required to be reported.
    2-4                                         (iii)  lists at least 95% of
    2-5  the transactions required to be reported, and
    2-6                                         (iv)  lists dates, places
    2-7  and persons required to be reported with reasonable clarity.
    2-8        SECTION 2.  This act is effective on September 1, 1993.
    2-9        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-10  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-11  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-12  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-13  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   2-14  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   2-15  passage, and it is so enacted.