78R1442 SLO-D
By: Wentworth S.B. No. 335
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to contracts between a school district and a business
entity in which a district trustee has a substantial interest;
providing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 171.003(a), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A local public official commits an offense if the
official knowingly:
(1) violates Section 171.004 or 171.0041;
(2) acts as surety for a business entity that has work,
business, or a contract with the governmental entity; or
(3) acts as surety on any official bond required of an
officer of the governmental entity.
SECTION 2. Chapter 171, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Section 171.0041 to read as follows:
Sec. 171.0041. CERTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICT CONTRACTS
PROHIBITED. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a school
district may not enter into a contract with a business entity in
which a district trustee has a substantial interest.
(b) A school district may enter into a contract with a
business entity in which a district trustee has a substantial
interest if:
(1) the board of trustees at an open meeting
determines, based on credible evidence, that:
(A) no other business entity within a 50-mile
radius of the school district's central administrative office is
capable of providing the same or better quality goods or services at
the same or lower cost; and
(B) the goods or services at issue are reasonably
priced; and
(2) each trustee who has a substantial interest in the
business entity complies with Section 171.004.
SECTION 3. Section 171.0041, Local Government Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to a contract executed on or after
September 1, 2003. A contract executed before September 1, 2003, is
governed by the law as it existed on the date the contract was
executed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.