Amend HB 3207 by inserting the following new sections,
appropriately numbered, and renumbering the subsequent sections
accordingly:
SECTION ____. Subchapter A, Chapter 159, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE BY CERTAIN COUNTY
OR DISTRICT OFFICERS
Sec. 159.001. <COUNTY COVERED BY SUBCHAPTER. This
subchapter applies only to a county with a population of 500,000 or
more.>
<Sec. 159.002.> DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Business entity" means a sole proprietorship,
partnership, firm, corporation, holding company, joint stock
company, receivership, trust, or any other entity recognized by law
through which business for profit is conducted.
(2) "County or district officer" means a county judge,
county commissioner, county attorney, district attorney, <or>
criminal district attorney, or judge of a statutory county court or
statutory probate court.
Sec. 159.002 <159.003. DETERMINATION OF SUBSTANTIAL
INTEREST. A person has a substantial interest in a business entity
if the person:>
<(1) has controlling interest in the business entity;>
<(2) has ownership in excess of 10 percent of the
voting interest in the business entity or in excess of $25,000 of
the fair market value of the business entity;>
<(3) has any participating interest, either direct or
indirect, by shares, stock, or otherwise, whether or not voting
rights are included, in the profits, proceeds, or capital gains of
the business entity in excess of 10 percent of them;>
<(4) holds the position of a member of the board of
directors or other governing board of the business entity;>
<(5) serves as an elected officer of the business
entity; or>
<(6) is an employee of the business entity.>
<Sec. 159.004>. FINANCIAL STATEMENT REQUIRED. (a) A county
or district officer or a candidate for a county or district office
shall file a financial statement as required by this subchapter.
(b) The state must <be>:
(1) be filed with:
(A) the county auditor of the county in which
the officer or candidate resides, if the county has a county
auditor; or
(B) the county clerk of the county in which the
officer or candidate resides, if the county does not have a county
auditor; and
(2) comply with Sections 572.022 and 572.023,
Government Code <filed on the form provided by the county auditor;
and>
<(3) verified>.
<Sec. 159.005. CONTENTS OF FINANCIAL STATEMENT. (a) The
financial statement must include an account of the financial
activity of the county or district officer or candidate for a
county or district office and an account of the financial activity
of the person's spouse and dependent children if the person had
actual control over that activity for the preceding calendar year.>
<(b) The account of financial activity consists of:>
<(1) a list of all sources of occupational income,
identified by employer, or if self-employed, by the nature of the
occupation, including identification of any person, business
entity, or other organization from which the person or a business
in which the person has a substantial interest received a fee as a
retainer for a claim on future services in case of need, as opposed
to a fee for services on a matter specified at the time of
contracting for or receiving the fee, whenever professional or
occupational services were not actually performed during the
reporting period equal to or in excess of the amount of the
retainer, and the category of the amount of the fee;>
<(2) identification by name and category of the number
of shares of stock of any business entity held or acquired and, if
sold, the category of the amount of net gain or loss realized from
the sale;>
<(3) a list of all bonds, notes, and other commercial
paper held or acquired and, if sold, the category of the amount of
net gain or loss realized from the sale;>
<(4) identification of each source and the category of
the amount of income in excess of $500 derived per source from
interest, dividends, royalties, and rents;>
<(5) identification of each person or financial
institution to whom a personal note or notes for a total financial
liability in excess of $1,000 existed at any time during the year,
and the category of the amount of the liability;>
<(6) identification by description of all beneficial
interests in real property and business entities held or acquired
and, if sold, the category of the amount of the net gain or loss
realized from the sale;>
<(7) identification of any person, business entity, or
other organization from which the person or the person's spouse or
dependent children received a gift of money or property in excess
of $250 in value or a series of gifts of money or property, the
total of which exceeds $250 in value received from the same source,
and a description of each gift, except gifts received from persons
related to the person at any time within the second degree by
consanguinity or affinity and campaign contributions that were
reported as required by law;>
<(8) identification of the source and the category of
the amount of all income received as beneficiary of a trust and
identification of each asset, if known to the beneficiary, from
which income was received by the beneficiary in excess of $500;>
<(9) identification by description and category of the
amount of all assets and liabilities of any corporation in which 50
percent or more of the outstanding stock was held, acquired, or
sold; and>
<(10) a list of all boards of directors of which the
person is a member and executive positions that the person holds in
corporations, firms, partnerships, and proprietorships, stating the
name of each corporation, firm, partnership, or proprietorship and
the position held.>
<Sec. 159.006. REPORTING CATEGORIES. (a) If an amount is
required to be reported by category, the person filing the
statement shall report whether the amount is less than $1,000, at
least $1,000 but less than $5,000, or $5,000 or more.>
<(b) The person filing the statement shall report an amount
of stock by category of number of shares instead of by category of
dollar value and shall report whether the amount is less than 100
shares, at least 100 but less than 500 shares, or 500 shares or
more.>
<(c) The person filing the statement shall report a
description of real property by the number of lots or number of
acres, as applicable, in each county and the name of the county.>
<Sec. 159.007. DETERMINATION OF DEPENDENT CHILD. (a) A
person's natural child, adopted child, or stepchild is the person's
dependent child during a calendar year if the person provides over
50 percent of the child's support during the year.>
Sec. 159.003 <159.008>. FILING DATES; TIMELINESS OF FILING
<FOR OFFICERS>. (a) A county or district officer shall file the
financial statement required by this subchapter within the time
prescribed by Section 572.026, Government Code. A candidate for
office as a county or district officer shall file the financial
statement required by this subchapter within the time prescribed by
Section 572.027, Government Code.
(b) The timeliness of the filing is governed by Section
572.029, Government Code <Not later than the last Friday in April
of each year, a county or district officer shall file the financial
statement required by this subchapter>.
<(b) A person who is appointed to a county or district
office or to fill a vacancy in a county or district office shall
file the first financial statement not later than the 30th day
after the date of appointment.>
(c) A county or district officer may request the county
auditor or county clerk, as applicable, to grant an extension of
time of not more than 60 days for filing the statement. The county
auditor or county clerk shall grant the request if it is received
before the filing deadline or if the timely filing or request for
extension is prevented because of physical or mental incapacity.
The county auditor or county clerk may not grant more than one
extension to a person in one year except for good cause shown.
<Sec. 159.009. FILING DATE FOR CANDIDATES. (a) Not later
than the 40th day after the date of the regular filing deadline for
an application for a place on the ballot in the general primary
election, a person who is a candidate for a county or district
office, whether partisan or independent, shall file the financial
statement required by this subchapter.>
<(b) If the deadline, other than the regular filing deadline
for an independent candidate, under which a candidate files an
application for a place on the ballot or a declaration of write-in
candidacy falls after the date of the regular filing deadline for
candidates in the general primary election, the candidate shall
file the financial statement not later than the 30th day after that
later deadline. However, if the deadline falls within 35 days of
the date of the election in which the candidate is running, the
candidate shall file the statement not later than the fifth day
before that election.>
<(c) A person nominated as a replacement candidate to fill a
vacancy in a party nomination for a county or district office shall
file the financial statement not later than the 15th day after the
date the certificate of the replacement nomination is filed.>
(d) The county auditor or county clerk may not grant an
extension to a candidate for office as a county or district officer
<for a person required to file under this section>.
Sec. 159.004. PREPARATION OF FORMS. (a) The county auditor
or county clerk, as applicable, may:
(1) design a form to be used for filing the financial
statement required by this subchapter; or
(2) require that a form designed by the Texas Ethics
Commission under Chapter 572, Government Code, be used for filing
the financial statement.
(b) The county auditor or county clerk shall mail two copies
of the form to each person required to file under this subchapter
within the time prescribed by Section 572.030(c), Government Code.
Sec. 159.005 <159.010>. DUPLICATE STATEMENTS. If a person
has filed a financial statement under one provision of this
subchapter covering the preceding calendar year, the person is not
required to file a financial statement required under another
provision of this subchapter to cover that same year if, before the
deadline for filing the statement under the other provision, the
person notifies the county auditor or county clerk, as applicable,
in writing that the person has already filed a financial statement
under this subchapter to cover that year.
Sec. 159.006 <159.011. TIMELINESS OF FILING. (a) The
deadline for filing a financial statement required by this
subchapter is 5 p.m. of the last day designated in the applicable
provision for filing the statement.>
<(b) If the last day for filing the financial statement is a
Saturday, Sunday, or legal state or national holiday, the statement
is timely if filed on the next regular business day.>
<(c) A financial statement is timely filed if it is properly
addressed and placed in the United States Post Office or in the
hands of a common or contract carrier not later than the last day
of filing the financial statement. The post office cancellation
mark or the receipt mark of a common or contract carrier is prima
facie evidence of the date the statement was deposited with the
post office or carrier. The person filing the statement may show by
competent evidence that the actual date of posting was different
from that shown by the marks.>
<Sec. 159.012. DUTIES OF COUNTY AUDITOR. (a) The county
auditor shall prepare forms to be used for filing the financial
statement under this subchapter that are substantially similar to
the financial statement forms prepared by the secretary of state
under Chapter 572, Government Code.>
<(b) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the
county auditor shall mail two copies of the financial statement
form to each person in the county required to file under this
subchapter.>
<(c) The forms must be mailed not later than:>
<(1) the 30th day before the deadline for filing the
financial statement under Section 159.008(a);>
<(2) the seventh day after the date of appointment for
person required to file under Section 159.008(b);>
<(3) the 15th day after the deadline for filing an
application for a place on the ballot or a declaration of write-in
candidacy for candidates required to file under Sections 159.009(a)
and (b); and>
<(4) the fifth day after the date the certificate of
the replacement nomination is filed for candidates required to file
under Section 159.009(c).>
<(d) The county auditor shall conduct a continuing survey to
determine whether all persons required to file financial statements
under this subchapter have actually filed statements in compliance
with this subchapter.>
<(e) If the county auditor determines that a person has
failed to file the statement in compliance with this subchapter,
the auditor shall send a written statement of the auditor's
determination to the county attorney or to the district or criminal
district attorney.>
<Sec. 159.013>. PUBLIC ACCESS TO STATEMENTS. (a) Financial
statements filed under this subchapter are public records. The
county auditor or county clerk, as applicable, shall maintain the
statements in separate alphabetical files and in a manner that is
accessible to the public during regular office hours.
(b) During the one-year period following the date of filing
of a financial statement, each time a person<, other than the
county auditor or an employee of the county auditor who is acting
on official business,> requests to see the financial statement, the
county auditor or county clerk shall place in the file a statement
of the person's name and address, whom the person represents, and
the date of the request. The county auditor or county clerk shall
retain that statement in the file for one year after the date the
requested financial statement is filed.
(c) Subsection (b) does not apply to a request to see a
financial statement by:
(1) the county auditor or an employee of the county
auditor who is acting on official business; or
(2) the county clerk or an employee of the county
clerk who is acting on official business, in a county that does not
have a county auditor.
(d) The county auditor or county clerk may, and on
notification from a former officer or candidate shall, destroy any
financial statements filed by the officer or candidate two years
after the date the person ceases to be an officer or candidate, as
applicable.
Sec. 159.007 <159.014>. CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) A county or
district officer or candidate commits an offense if the officer or
candidate knowingly fails to file a financial statement as required
by this subchapter.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
(c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the officer or candidate did not receive copies of the financial
statement form required to be mailed to the officer or candidate by
this subchapter.
Sec. 159.008 <159.015>. VENUE. An offense under this
subchapter, including perjury, may be prosecuted in any county in
which it may be prosecuted under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Sec. 159.009 <159.016>. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who
determines that a person required to file a financial statement
under this subchapter has failed to do so may notify in writing:
(1) the county attorney or criminal district attorney;
(2) the district attorney, if the person required to
file the statement is the county attorney; or
(3) the local administrative district judge, if the
person required to file the statement is the criminal district
attorney.
(b) On receipt of a written notice under Subsection (a), the
county attorney, district attorney, criminal district attorney, or
local administrative district judge <The county auditor> shall
determine from any available evidence whether the person to whom
the notice relates has failed to file a statement <required to be
filed under this subchapter is late>. On making that determination,
the county attorney, district attorney, criminal district attorney,
or district judge <auditor> shall immediately mail by certified
mail a notice of the determination to the person responsible for
filing the statement <and to the county attorney or to the district
or criminal district attorney>.
(c) <(b)> If <a statement is determined to be late,> the
person responsible for filing the statement fails to file the
statement before the 30th day after the person receives the notice
under Subsection (b), the person is civilly liable to the county
for an amount not to exceed $1,000 <$100>. If the person
responsible for filing the statement is the criminal district
attorney, the commissioners court may appoint an attorney to
collect the penalty <The county attorney or the district or
criminal district attorney may not initiate suit for the penalty
until the 10th day after the date the notice is mailed under this
section. If the penalty is paid before the 10th day after the
mailing, the county auditor shall notify the county attorney or the
district or criminal district attorney, and the civil suit under
this section may not be initiated>.
(d) <(c)> A penalty paid under this section shall be
deposited to the credit of the general fund of the county.
(e) <(d)> This section is cumulative of any other available
sanctions for late filings of statements.
SECTION ____. Section 572.030(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The copies must be mailed:
(1) before the 30th day before the deadline for filing
the financial statement under Section 572.026(a) or (c), except as
otherwise provided by this subsection;
(2) not later than the 15th day after the applicable
<filing> deadline for filing an application for a place on the
ballot or a declaration of write-in candidacy for candidates
required to file under Section 572.027(a), (b), or (c);
(3) not later than the seventh day after the date of
appointment for individuals required to file under Section
572.026(b), or if the legislature is in session, sooner if
possible; and
(4) not later then the fifth day after the date the
certificate of nomination is filed for candidates required to file
under Section 574.027(d).
SECTION ____. Subchapter C, Chapter 159, Local Government
Code, is repealed.
SECTION ____. (a) The amendments made by this Act to
Subchapter A, Chapter 159, Local Government Code, apply only to a
financial disclosure statement under that subchapter that is due on
or after September 1, 1997. A financial statement under Subchapter
A, Chapter 159, Local Government Code, that is due before September
1, 1997, is governed by the law in effect at the time the financial
statement was due, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
(b) The repeal by this Act of Section 159.056, Local
Government Code, does not apply to an offense committed under that
section before the effective date of the repeal. An offense
committed before that date is covered by that section as it existed
on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for this purpose.