By Galloway                                     S.B. No. 1171

      75R7771 CAG-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to a prohibition on the expenditure of certain public

 1-3     funds on lobbying; providing a civil penalty.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 305, Government Code, is

 1-6     amended by adding Section 305.028 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 305.028.  LEGISLATIVE INFLUENCE PROHIBITED.  (a)  A

 1-8     state agency or a municipality may not:

 1-9                 (1)  spend any funds to influence the passage or defeat

1-10     of legislation;

1-11                 (2)  spend any funds to pay, in whole or in part, the

1-12     compensation for the full-time employment of an employee who is

1-13     required to register under this chapter;

1-14                 (3)  spend any funds to pay, in whole or in part, the

1-15     compensation for the part-time employment of an employee who is

1-16     required to register under this chapter because of the employee's

1-17     activities for an industry, profession, or association:

1-18                       (A)  that the employee's agency or municipality

1-19     regulates;

1-20                       (B)  from which the employee's agency or

1-21     municipality purchases goods or services; or

1-22                       (C)  to which the employee's agency or

1-23     municipality provides goods or services, including grants or loans;

1-24                 (4)  employ a person who is required to register under

 2-1     this chapter by virtue of the employee's activities on behalf of

 2-2     the agency or municipality; or

 2-3                 (5)  employ a person whose primary duties are

 2-4     activities related to legislation, such as supplying information to

 2-5     members of the legislative branch, obtaining information from the

 2-6     legislative branch, monitoring the progress of legislation, or

 2-7     acting as an advocate or proponent of legislation.

 2-8           (b)  An officer or employee of a state agency or a

 2-9     municipality may furnish any member of the legislature or a

2-10     legislative committee, on request,  information in the possession

2-11     of the officer or employee that is not considered to be

2-12     confidential under law.

2-13           (c)  A part-time employee may serve as a lobbyist under this

2-14     section if the entity for which the person is lobbying is not

2-15     related to the agency or municipality with which the person is

2-16     employed.

2-17           (d)  A state agency or municipality that spends money or

2-18     employs a person in violation of this section is liable to the

2-19     state for a civil penalty in an amount equal to three times the

2-20     compensation paid by the state agency or municipality to the

2-21     person. The attorney general may sue to collect the penalty.

2-22           (e)  In this section, "state agency" means a governmental

2-23     entity that spends money appropriated to the entity by the General

2-24     Appropriations Act.

2-25           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-26           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-27     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 3-1     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 3-2     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-3     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.