1-1     By:  Bivins, Shapiro                                   S.B. No. 122

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed December 11, 1996; January 14, 1997,

 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;

 1-4     April 11, 1997, reported adversely, with favorable Committee

 1-5     Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 2; April 11, 1997,

 1-6     sent to printer.)

 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 122                   By:  Nelson

 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-9                                   AN ACT

1-10     relating to the representation of a person before an executive

1-11     state agency by a member of the legislature.

1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-13           SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Section 572.052, Government Code,

1-14     is amended to read as follows:

1-15           (a)  A member of the legislature may not, for compensation,

1-16     represent another person before a state agency in the executive

1-17     branch of state government unless[:]

1-18                 [(1)  the representation is made in a proceeding that

1-19     is adversary in nature or in another public hearing that is a

1-20     matter of record; or]

1-21                 [(2)]  the representation involves the filing of

1-22     documents, contacts with the agency for informational purposes, or

1-23     other relations, that involve only ministerial acts on the part of

1-24     the commission, agency, board, department, or officer.

1-25           SECTION 2.  Section 572.021, Government Code, is amended to

1-26     read as follows:

1-27           Sec. 572.021.  Financial Statement Required.  A state

1-28     officer, a partisan or independent candidate for an office as an

1-29     elected officer, and a party chairman shall file with the

1-30     commission a verified financial statement complying with Sections

1-31     572.022 through 572.024 [572.025].

1-32           SECTION 3.  Section 572.025, Government Code, is repealed.

1-33           SECTION 4.  This Act applies only to representation before an

1-34     executive state agency for which a member of the legislature is

1-35     hired on or after the effective date of this Act.  Representation

1-36     for which a member of the legislature was hired before that date is

1-37     governed by the law in effect when the member of the legislature

1-38     was hired, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-39           SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-40           SECTION 6.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-41     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-42     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-43     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-44     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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