By: Toth, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Creighton) H.B. No. 1495
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 2019;
  May 10, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on State
  Affairs; May 19, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote:  
  Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 19, 2019, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to authorization for the creation of a county ethics
  commission in certain counties and to authorizing counties to adopt
  a code of ethics for their commissioners courts.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  This Act shall be cited as the J D Lambright
  Local Government Ethics Reform Act.
         SECTION 2.  Section 161.001, Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 161.001.  APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
  applies only to:
               (1)  a county that:
                     (A) [(1)]  has a population of 800,000 or more;
                     (B) [(2)]  is located on the international
  border; and
                     (C) [(3)]  before September 1, 2009, had a county
  ethics board appointed by the commissioners court;
               (2)  a county that:
                     (A)  has a population of 425,000 or more;
                     (B)  is adjacent to a county with a population of
  3.3 million or more; and
                     (C)  contains a portion of the San Jacinto River;
  and
               (3)  a county that has a population of less than 40,000
  that is adjacent to a county with a population of more than 3.3
  million.
         SECTION 3.  Section 161.002(8), Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
               (8)  "County public servant" means a person elected,
  selected, appointed, employed, or otherwise designated as one of
  the following, even if the person has not yet qualified for or
  assumed the duties of office:
                     (A)  a county officer or county employee;
                     (B)  a person appointed by the commissioners court
  or a county officer to a position on one of the following, whether
  the position is compensated or not:
                           (i)  an authority, board, bureau,
  commission, committee, council, department, district, division, or
  office of the county; or
                           (ii)  a multi-jurisdictional board;
                     (C)  an attorney at law or notary public when
  participating in the performance of a governmental function; or
                     (D)  [a candidate for nomination or election to an
  elected county office; or
                     [(E)] a person who is performing a governmental
  function under a claim of right although the person is not legally
  qualified or authorized to do so.
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 170, Local Government Code, is amended
  by adding Section 170.002 to read as follows:
         Sec. 170.002.  CODE OF ETHICS FOR CERTAIN COMMISSIONERS
  COURTS. (a) This section applies to a county that has a population
  of less than 40,000 that is adjacent to a county with a population
  of more than 3.3 million.
         (b)  The commissioners court of a county subject to this
  section may adopt by order a code of ethics that provides standards
  of conduct for members of the commissioners court.
         (c)  If a commissioners court of a county subject to this
  section adopts a code of ethics under this section, the code of
  ethics must require each member of the commissioners court to file a
  conflicts disclosure statement that is in addition to the statement
  required by Section 176.003.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
 
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