84R15515 T
 
  By: Taylor of Collin S.B. No. 19
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the ethics of public officers and related requirements;
  creating criminal offenses.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
  ARTICLE 1. ANTI-CORRUPTION
         SECTION 1.01.  Article 42.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by adding Section 12 to read as follows:
         Sec. 12.  In addition to the information described by
  Section 1, the judgment should reflect affirmative findings entered
  pursuant to Article 42.0199.
         SECTION 1.02.  Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by adding Article 42.0199 to read as follows:
         Art. 42.0199.  FINDING REGARDING OFFENSE RELATED TO
  PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC SERVICE. (a) In the trial of an offense
  described by Section 802.004, Government Code, the judge shall make
  an affirmative finding of fact and enter the affirmative finding in
  the judgment in the case if the judge determines that the offense
  committed was related to the defendant's performance of public
  service as a member of a public retirement system.
         (b)  A judge that makes the affirmative finding described by
  this article shall make the determination and enter the order
  required by Section 802.004(k), Government Code.
         SECTION 1.03.  Subchapter A, Chapter 802, Government Code,
  is amended by adding Section 802.004 to read as follows:
         Sec. 802.004.  CERTAIN EMPLOYEES AND ANNUITANTS INELIGIBLE
  FOR RETIREMENT ANNUITY; RESUMPTION OR RESTORATION OF ELIGIBILITY.
  (a) This section applies only to a person who is a member or an
  annuitant of a public retirement system and holds or has held an
  elective office included in the coverage of that public retirement
  system.
         (b)  To the extent ordered by a court under Subsection (k), a
  person is not eligible to receive a full service retirement annuity
  from a public retirement system if the person is finally convicted
  of an offense that is related to the person's performance of public
  service arising from the person's official duties as an elected
  officer while a member of the retirement system and is a felony.
         (c)  To the extent ordered by a court under Subsection (k),
  the public retirement system shall suspend making full annuity
  payments to a person who is not eligible to receive a full service
  retirement annuity under Subsection (b) on receipt by the
  retirement system of notice and terms of the person's conviction.
         (d)  The public retirement system shall resume making full
  annuity payments if the person made ineligible for a full annuity
  under Subsection (b):
               (1)  is subsequently found to be not guilty of the
  offense; or
               (2)  meets the requirements for innocence under Section
  103.001(a)(2), Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
         (e)  The public retirement system as applicable shall:
               (1)  for a person whose full annuity payments are
  resumed under Subsection (d), reimburse the person for any portion
  of the annuity payments withheld during a period of suspension; or
               (2)  restore the full eligibility of a person convicted
  of an offense described by Subsection (b) to receive a service
  retirement annuity, including the restoration of all service
  credits accrued by the person before the conviction, if the person
  satisfies the condition under Subsection (d)(1) or (2).
         (f)  Except as provided by Subsection (g), a person convicted
  of an offense described by Subsection (b) whose eligibility for a
  service retirement annuity is not fully restored under Subsection
  (e)(2) is eligible to accrue service credit toward a service
  retirement annuity from a public retirement system if the person:
               (1)  was placed on community supervision for the
  offense for which the person was convicted and:
                     (A)  successfully completed the period of
  community supervision; and
                     (B)  received a discharge and dismissal under
  Section 20, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
               (2)  was sentenced to serve a term of confinement in a
  penal institution for the offense for which the person was
  convicted and completely discharged the person's sentence,
  including any term of confinement and any period of parole or other
  form of conditional release.
         (g)  In determining a person's eligibility for retirement
  benefits under Subsection (f), a public retirement system may
  include only those service credits that were:
               (1)  accrued by the person before the person's
  conviction for an offense described by Subsection (b) and remaining
  after conviction of the offense; or
               (2)  earned after fulfilling the requirements under
  Subsection (f).
         (h)  Except as provided by Subsection (i), a person who is
  not eligible to receive a full service retirement annuity under
  Subsection (b) is entitled to request and receive a refund of the
  person's retirement annuity contributions, not including any
  interest earned on those contributions. A person who accepts a
  refund under this subsection terminates the person's membership in
  the public retirement system.
         (i)  Benefits payable to an alternate payee under Chapter
  804, including a spouse or dependent child, are not affected by a
  person's ineligibility to receive a full service retirement annuity
  under Subsection (b).
         (j)  The governing body of a public retirement system shall
  adopt rules and procedures to implement this section.
         (k)  A court shall:
               (1)  determine and order as applicable for a person
  convicted of an offense described by Subsection (b) the amount by
  which the person's:
                     (A)  service retirement annuity payments are to be
  reduced; or
                     (B)  accrued service credits are to be reduced;
  and
               (2)  notify the affected public retirement system of
  the terms of a conviction ordered under Subdivision (1).
  ARTICLE 2. TRANSPARENCY AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS
         SECTION 2.01.  Section 572.023, Government Code, is amended
  by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
  follows:
         (b)  The account of financial activity consists of:
               (1)  a list of all sources of occupational income,
  identified by employer, or if self-employed, by the nature of the
  occupation, including identification of a person or other
  organization from which the individual or a business in which the
  individual has a substantial interest received a fee as a retainer
  for a claim on future services in case of need, as distinguished
  from a fee for services on a matter specified at the time of
  contracting for or receiving the fee, if professional or
  occupational services are not actually performed during the
  reporting period equal to or in excess of the amount of the
  retainer, and the category of the amount of the fee;
               (2)  identification by name and the category of the
  number of shares of stock of any business entity held or acquired,
  and if sold, the category of the amount of net gain or loss realized
  from the sale;
               (3)  a list of all bonds, notes, and other commercial
  paper held or acquired, and if sold, the category of the amount of
  net gain or loss realized from the sale;
               (4)  identification of each source and the category of
  the amount of income in excess of $500 derived from each source from
  interest, dividends, royalties, and rents;
               (5)  identification of each guarantor of a loan and
  identification of each person or financial institution to whom a
  personal note or notes or lease agreement for a total financial
  liability in excess of $1,000 existed at any time during the year
  and the category of the amount of the liability;
               (6)  identification by description of all beneficial
  interests in real property and business entities held or acquired,
  and if sold, the category of the amount of the net gain or loss
  realized from the sale;
               (7)  identification of a person or other organization
  from which the individual or the individual's spouse or dependent
  children received a gift of anything of value in excess of $250 and
  a description of each gift, except:
                     (A)  a gift received from an individual related to
  the individual at any time within the second degree by
  consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Subchapter B,
  Chapter 573;
                     (B)  a political contribution that was reported as
  required by Chapter 254, Election Code; and
                     (C)  an expenditure required to be reported by a
  person required to be registered under Chapter 305;
               (8)  identification of the source and the category of
  the amount of all income received as beneficiary of a trust, other
  than a blind trust that complies with Subsection (c), and
  identification of each trust asset, if known to the beneficiary,
  from which income was received by the beneficiary in excess of $500;
               (9)  identification by description and the category of
  the amount of all assets and liabilities of a corporation, firm,
  partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership,
  professional corporation, professional association, joint venture,
  or other business association in which 50 percent or more of the
  outstanding ownership was held, acquired, or sold;
               (10)  a list of all boards of directors of which the
  individual is a member and executive positions that the individual
  holds in corporations, firms, partnerships, limited partnerships,
  limited liability partnerships, professional corporations,
  professional associations, joint ventures, or other business
  associations or proprietorships, stating the name of each
  corporation, firm, partnership, limited partnership, limited
  liability partnership, professional corporation, professional
  association, joint venture, or other business association or
  proprietorship and the position held;
               (11)  identification of any person providing
  transportation, meals, or lodging expenses permitted under Section
  36.07(b), Penal Code, and the amount of those expenses, other than
  expenditures required to be reported under Chapter 305;
               (12)  any corporation, firm, partnership, limited
  partnership, limited liability partnership, professional
  corporation, professional association, joint venture, or other
  business association, excluding a publicly held corporation, in
  which both the individual and a person registered under Chapter 305
  have an interest;
               (13)  identification by name and the category of the
  number of shares of any mutual fund held or acquired, and if sold,
  the category of the amount of net gain or loss realized from the
  sale; [and]
               (14)  identification of each blind trust that complies
  with Subsection (c), including:
                     (A)  the category of the fair market value of the
  trust;
                     (B)  the date the trust was created;
                     (C)  the name and address of the trustee; and
                     (D)  a statement signed by the trustee, under
  penalty of perjury, stating that:
                           (i)  the trustee has not revealed any
  information to the individual, except information that may be
  disclosed under Subdivision (8); and
                           (ii)  to the best of the trustee's knowledge,
  the trust complies with this section; and
               (15)  if the aggregate cost of goods or services sold
  under one or more written contracts described by this subdivision
  exceeds $10,000 in the year covered by the report, identification
  of each written contract, including the name of each party to the
  contract:
                     (A)  for the sale of:
                           (i)  goods in the amount of $2,500 or more;
  or
                           (ii)  services, including professional
  services as defined by Section 2254.002, consulting services as
  defined by Section 2254.021, or legal counsel, in the amount of
  $5,000 or more;
                     (B)  to which the individual, the individual's
  spouse, the individual's dependent child, or any business entity of
  which the individual, the individual's spouse, or the individual's
  dependent child has at least a 50 percent ownership interest is a
  party; and
                     (C)  with:
                           (i)  a governmental entity; or
                           (ii)  a person who contracts with a
  governmental entity, to fulfill one or more of the person's
  obligations to the governmental entity under that contract.
         (e)  In this section, "governmental entity" means the state,
  a political subdivision of the state, or an agency or department of
  the state or a political subdivision of the state.
  ARTICLE 3. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
         SECTION 3.01.  Section 7.103(c), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  A person who is required to register as a lobbyist under
  Chapter 305, Government Code, [by virtue of the person's activities
  for compensation in or on behalf of a profession, business, or
  association related to the operation of the board,] may not [serve
  as a member of the board or] act as the general counsel to the board.
         SECTION 3.02.  Section 141.001(a), Election Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or
  appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:
               (1)  be a United States citizen;
               (2)  be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the
  term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as
  applicable;
               (3)  have not been determined by a final judgment of a
  court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
                     (A)  totally mentally incapacitated; or
                     (B)  partially mentally incapacitated without the
  right to vote;
               (4)  have not been finally convicted of a felony from
  which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from
  the resulting disabilities;
               (5)  have resided continuously in the state for 12
  months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six
  months immediately preceding the following date:
                     (A)  for a candidate whose name is to appear on a
  general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing
  deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;
                     (B)  for an independent candidate, the date of the
  regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place
  on the ballot;
                     (C)  for a write-in candidate, the date of the
  election at which the candidate's name is written in;
                     (D)  for a party nominee who is nominated by any
  method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is
  made; and
                     (E)  for an appointee to an office, the date the
  appointment is made; [and]
               (6)  not be required to be registered as a lobbyist
  under Chapter 305, Government Code; and
               (7)  satisfy any other eligibility requirements
  prescribed by law for the office.
         SECTION 3.03.  Subchapter C, Chapter 572, Government Code,
  is amended by adding Sections 572.062, 572.063, and 572.064 to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 572.062.  FORMER LEGISLATOR: LOBBYING RESTRICTED;
  CRIMINAL OFFENSE. (a) In this section, "administrative action,"
  "communicates directly with," "legislation," "member of the
  executive branch," and "member of the legislative branch" have the
  meanings assigned by Section 305.002.
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), a former member of
  the legislature may not, before the second anniversary of the date
  the person ceases to be a member, engage in activities that require
  registration under Chapter 305.
         (c)  Subsection (b) does not apply to a former member who
  does not receive compensation other than reimbursement for actual
  expenses for communicating directly with a member of the
  legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or
  administrative action.
         (d)  A former member who violates this section commits an
  offense. An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
         Sec. 572.063.  CERTAIN REFERRALS FOR LEGAL SERVICES
  PROHIBITED; CRIMINAL OFFENSE. (a) A member of the legislature or
  an executive officer elected in a statewide election who is a member
  of the State Bar of Texas or who is licensed to practice law in
  another state or a United States territory may not make or receive
  any referral for legal services for monetary compensation or any
  other benefit.
         (b)  A person commits an offense if the person violates this
  section. An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
         Sec. 572.064.  REPRESENTATION BY LEGISLATORS REGARDING
  PUBLIC SECURITIES ISSUANCES PROHIBITED; CRIMINAL OFFENSE. (a) A
  member of the legislature may not for compensation provide bond
  counsel services for an issuer, as defined by Section 1201.002(1),
  including by providing contractual services authorized by Section
  1201.027 to an issuer.
         (b)  A member of the legislature commits an offense if the
  member violates this section. An offense under this subsection is a
  Class A misdemeanor.
         SECTION 3.04.  Chapter 601, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Section 601.011 to read as follows:
         Sec. 601.011.  ELECTED OFFICER MAY NOT BE REGISTERED
  LOBBYIST. (a) A person may not qualify for a public elective
  office if the person is required to be registered as a lobbyist
  under Chapter 305.
         (b)  Subsection (a) does not apply to an office for which the
  federal or state constitution prescribes exclusive qualification
  requirements.
         SECTION 3.05.  Section 1201.027, Government Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  An issuer may not select or contract with a member of the
  legislature to provide legal services necessary in connection with
  the issuer's issuance of public securities.
  ARTICLE 4.  TRANSITIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE
         SECTION 4.01.  Section 12, Article 42.01, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, and Article 42.0199, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
  added by this Act, apply only to a judgment of conviction entered on
  or after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 4.02.  Section 802.004, Government Code, as added by
  this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after the
  effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
  date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense
  was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element
  of the offense occurred before that date.
         SECTION 4.03.  Section 572.023, Government Code, as amended
  by this Act, applies only to a financial statement filed under
  Subchapter B, Chapter 572, Government Code, as amended by this Act,
  on or after January 1, 2017. A financial statement filed before
  January 1, 2017, is governed by the law in effect on the date of
  filing, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.04.  Section 572.062, Government Code, as added by
  this Act, applies only to a member of the legislature who ceases to
  be a member on or after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 4.05.  Section 572.063, Government Code, as added by
  this Act, applies only to conduct that occurred on or after the
  effective date of this Act. Conduct that occurred before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
  date the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect
  for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.06.  Sections 572.064 and 1201.027(e), Government
  Code, as added by this Act, apply only to services rendered on or
  after the effective date of this Act. Services rendered before the
  effective date of this Act are governed by the law in effect on the
  date the services were rendered, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.07.  The changes in law made by this Act in
  amending Section 7.103(c), Education Code, and Section 141.001(a),
  Election Code, and in adding Section 601.011, Government Code,
  apply only to the eligibility and qualification requirements for a
  candidate or officer whose term of office will begin on or after the
  effective date of this Act. The eligibility and qualification
  requirements for a candidate or officer whose term of office will
  begin before the effective date of this Act are governed by the law
  in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
  former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.08.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.