83R7788 EES-F
	By: Howard	H.B. No. 1074

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the contents of and public access to personal financial
	statements and the creation of a select interim committee to
	undertake a comprehensive review of personal financial disclosures
	made to the Texas Ethics Commission and certain other authorities.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Sections 572.023(a) and (b), Government Code,
	are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  A financial statement must include an account of the
	financial activity of the individual required by this subchapter to
	file a financial statement and an account of the financial activity
	of the individual's spouse and dependent children [if the
	individual had actual control over that activity] for the preceding
	calendar year.
	(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)  identification of any other source of earned or
	unearned income, including a pension, individual retirement
	account, or other retirement plan, and the category of the amount of
	income derived from each source.
	SECTION 2.  Section 572.032(a), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(a)  Financial statements filed under this subchapter are
	public records. The commission shall maintain the statements in
	separate alphabetical files and in a manner that is accessible to
	the public during regular office hours and make the statements
	available to the public on the commission's website.
	SECTION 3.  Sections 572.032(b) and (c), Government Code,
	are repealed.
	SECTION 4.  (a)  A select interim committee is created to
	study and review the procedures and effects of the filing of
	personal financial statements with the Texas Ethics Commission or
	other authorities under Chapter 572, Government Code, or other
	similar laws.
	(b)  The study must consider:
	(1)  the purposes of the current disclosure statutes
	and whether the statutes accomplish those purposes;
	(2)  the effectiveness of the current disclosure
	scheme; and
	(3)  what changes, if any, should be made to more
	effectively accomplish the purposes of personal financial
	disclosures.
	(c)  The committee is composed of:
	(1)  five members appointed by the lieutenant governor
	as follows:
	(A)  two senators;
	(B)  one representative of an open government
	advocacy organization;
	(C)  one representative of an organization
	representing professional media; and
	(D)  one member of the public;
	(2)  five members appointed by the speaker of the house
	of representatives as follows:
	(A)  two state representatives;
	(B)  one representative of an open government
	advocacy organization;
	(C)  one representative of an organization
	representing professional media; and
	(D)  one member of the public; and
	(3)  one member of the Texas Ethics Commission,
	appointed by the presiding officer of the Texas Ethics Commission,
	who shall serve as the presiding officer of the committee.
	(d)  The committee shall convene at the call of the presiding
	officer.
	(e)  The committee has all other powers and duties provided
	to a special or select committee by the rules of the senate and
	house of representatives, by Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government
	Code, and by policies of the senate and house committees on
	administration.
	(f)  Not later than January 15, 2015, the committee shall
	report the committee's findings and recommendations to the
	lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
	and the governor. The committee shall include in its
	recommendations specific statutory and rule changes that appear
	necessary from the results of the committee's study under
	Subsection (a) of this section.
	(g)  Not later than the 60th day after the effective date of
	this Act, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
	representatives, and the presiding officer of the Texas Ethics
	Commission shall appoint the members of the committee created under
	this section.
	(h)  The Texas Legislative Council and the Texas Ethics
	Commission shall provide any necessary staff and resources to the
	committee created under this section.
	(i)  The committee created under this section is abolished
	and this section expires January 20, 2015.
	SECTION 5.  Section 572.023, Government Code, as amended by
	this Act, applies only to a financial statement filed under
	Subchapter B, Chapter 572, Government Code, on or after January 1,
	2014. A financial statement filed before January 1, 2014, is
	governed by the law in effect on the date of filing, and the former
	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 6.  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, 2013.