By Maxey                                         H.B. No. 510

      75R168 SMH-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the prohibition of conflicts of interest regarding

 1-3     gifts to and the naming of facilities by university systems or

 1-4     their components.

 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-6           SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is

 1-7     amended by adding Section 51.941 to read as follows:

 1-8           Sec. 51.941.  PROHIBITION ON CONFLICTS OF INTEREST REGARDING

 1-9     GIFTS AND NAMING OF FACILITIES.  (a)  A university system or

1-10     component institution of a university system may not accept a gift

1-11     from a business entity, or from an individual who has a substantial

1-12     interest in the business entity, if a university official at any

1-13     time within the preceding year has had a substantial interest in

1-14     the business entity.

1-15           (b)  A university system or component institution of a

1-16     university system may not name a facility after a business entity,

1-17     after an individual who has a substantial interest in the business

1-18     entity, or after a person related to the individual within the

1-19     third degree by consanguinity or within the second degree by

1-20     affinity if:

1-21                 (1)  on or after September 1, 1990, the university

1-22     system or component institution accepted a gift for the facility

1-23     from the business entity or individual; and

1-24                 (2)  the acceptance of the gift would have violated

 2-1     Subsection (a) had that subsection been in effect on the date the

 2-2     gift was accepted.

 2-3           (c)  Section 572.005, Government Code, applies to the

 2-4     determination of whether an individual has a substantial interest

 2-5     in a business entity under this section.

 2-6           (d)  In this section:

 2-7                 (1)  "Governing board" and "university system" have the

 2-8     meanings assigned by Section 61.003.

 2-9                 (2)  "University official" means the chief executive

2-10     officer or a member of the governing board of a university system

2-11     or a component institution of a university system.

2-12           SECTION 2.  (a)  Section 51.941(a), Education Code, as added

2-13     by this Act applies only to a gift made on or after the effective

2-14     date of this Act.

2-15           (b)  Section 51.941(b), Education Code, as added by this Act

2-16     applies to the naming of a facility on or after September 1, 1990.

2-17           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-18           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-19     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-20     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-21     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-22     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.