IMF H.B. 1071 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS STATE AFFAIRS H.B. 1071 By: Swinford 4-4-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Under current law, state legislators may represent clients for compensation before state agencies. Many legislators take advantage of this ability and represent clients, whether they are constituents or not, before agencies whose budgets and operations they control. This creates a potential for both real and perceived conflicts of interest. An often-told example of this type of conflict occurred earlier this decade when a constituent complaining of a polluting dairy farm asked his state senator for assistance at a TNRCC hearing. The constituent gave the senator all of the arguments and supporting statistical evidence against the dairy that was polluting a nearby source of water. Much to his dismay, when the constituent arrived at the hearing he discovered that his senator was representing the dairy. In 1991 the statute was amended to require disclosure of such employment, however, many believe that the practice should be outlawed because of the influence legislators have over agency budgets and operations. PURPOSE This legislation would prohibit a member of the legislature from engaging in any type of representation for a person, for compensation, before an executive state agency. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 572, Subtitle B, Title 5, Government Code as follows: Sec. 572.052(a), prohibiting a legislator from representing another person, for compensation, before an executive state agency. Deletes the exceptions allowing a legislator to represent another person, for compensation, before an executive state agency either in a hearing that is adversarial or a matter of record, or for ministerial acts and the filing of documents. SECTION 2. Amends Chapter 572, Subtitle B, Title 5, Government Code as follows: Sec. 572.021. Removes Sec. 572.025 from the list of sections requiring a verified financial statement. SECTION 3. Repeals Sec. 572.025, Government Code, which details reporting requirements. SECTION 4. Makes this Act prospective. SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1997. SECTION 6. Emergency clause.