Texas Ethics Commission The Texas Ethics Commission is authorized by Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6252- 9d.1, sec.1.29, to issue advisory opinions in regard to the following statutes: Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6252-9b; the Government Code, Chapter 302; the Government Code, Chapter 305; the Election Code, Title 15; the Penal Code, Chapter 36; and the Penal Code, Chapter 39. Requests for copies of the full text of opinions or questions on particular submissions should be addressed to the Office of the Texas Ethics Commission, P.O. Box 12070, Austin, Texas 78711-2070, (512) 463-5800. Opinions AOR-21. File closed. No opinion issued. AOR-95. File closed. No opinion issued. AOR-109. File closed. No opinion issued. AOR-130. File closed. No opinion issued. The Texas Ethics Commission is authorized by Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6252- 9d.1, sec.1.29 to issue advisory opinions in regard to the following statutes: Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6252-9b; Chapter 302, Government Code; Chapter 305, Government Code; Title 15, Election Code; Chapter 36, Penal Code; and Chapter 39, Penal Code. Questions on particular submissions should be addressed to the Texas Ethics Commission, P.O. Box 12070, Austin, Texas 78711-2070, (512) 463-5800. Issued in Austin, Texas, on December 2, 1992. TRD-9216067 Sarah Woelk Director, Advisory Opinions Texas Ethics Commission Filed: December 2, 1992 For further information, please call: (512) 463-5800 AOR-131. The Texas Ethics Commission has been asked to consider whether a $15 meal is a benefit. AOR-132. The Ethics Commission has been asked whether a city employee is required to register as a lobbyist and whether the Ethics Commission has adopted a rule under the Government Code, sec.305.0051. AOR-133. The Texas Ethics Commission has been asked about the reporting requirements applicable to a luncheon provided for lobby purposes. The specific questions are as follows. Question 1. Which of the following must be included in reporting the costs of the luncheon: supplies; printing; bus transportation for legislators and [association] members to and from the capitol; meeting room rental; name badges; flowers; food costs; and commemorative gift for legislators (approximately $10). Question 2. Should the reportable cost of the items listed above, include the amount spent for [association] members? Question 3. How would you determine the amount spent per legislator since [association] members and legislators are in attendance? Question 4. Should the expenses be reported monthly as incurred or in lump sum following the luncheon? Question 5. I am the registered lobbyist on file for [the association] and do not lobby for other entities. We also have a lobbyist on file with the commission for [the association] who is on retainer and does lobby for other entities. Do we file duplicate reports or can the cost of the luncheon appear only on my report? AOR-134. The Texas Ethics Commission has been asked to consider whether a legislator may accept a free subscription to a magazine. AOR-135. The Texas Ethics Commission has been asked to consider whether the Chapter II Advisory committee for the Texas Education Agency is required to file a financial statement under Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6252-9b. AOR-136. The Ethics Commission has been asked to consider the application of the Ethics laws to the production of a television program featuring an elected official. The Texas Ethics Commission is authorized by Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6252- 9d.1, sec.1.29 to issue advisory opinions in regard to the following statutes: Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6252-9b; Chapter 302, Government Code; Chapter 305, Government Code; Title 15, Election Code; Chapter 36, Penal Code; and Chapter 39, Penal Code. Questions on particular submissions should be addressed to the Texas Ethics Commission, P.O. Box 12070, Austin, Texas 78711-2070, (512) 463-5800. Issued in Austin, Texas, on December 2, 1992. TRD-9216068 Sarah Woelk Director, Advisory Opinions Texas Ethics Commission Filed: December 2, 1992 For further information, please call: (512) 463-5800 AOR-137. The Texas Ethics Commission has been asked whether an officeholder may use political contributions to operate and maintain his personal airplane if the officeholder reimburses his political funds for occasional personal use. AOR-138. The Texas Ethics Commission has been asked whether a member of an advisory committee of the Department of Transportation is a "state officer" for purposes of Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6252-9b. AOR-139. The Texas Ethics Commission has been asked to consider questions about a general-purpose political committee that is sponsored by a statewide trade association. The political committee receives contributions from individual and corporate members of the trade association. Those contributions are used for mailings, flyers, printing, and subscriptions to periodicals as well as for food, travel, and telephone expenses for the trustees of the political committee. In this context, the request letter raises the following questions. Must the names of the local associations, who are members of the state association and who make contributions to the general-purpose committee, be included in the name of general-purpose committee when the name of state association appears in the name of the general-purpose committee? Must the names of the corporate or other legal entities, who are members of the local and state associations and who make contributions to the general-purpose committee, be included in the name of the general-purpose committee when the name of the state association appears in the name of the general-purpose committee? Must the names of the corporate or other legal entities, whose principals are members of the local and state associations (corporate entities are not members) of the local or state associations and who make contributions to the general- purpose committee when the name of the state association appears in the name of general-purpose committee? Must the names of the corporate or other legal entities, whose principals and the entities are not members of the local or state associations and who make contributions to the general-purpose committee, be included in the name of the general-purpose committee? How long of a period is an individual, corporation, or other legal entity considered to be a contributor to a general-purpose committee (e.g., a corporation contributes to a general-purpose committee during one period but not the next period) and therefore, how long does sec.252.003(d) require the name of a corporation contributing to a general-purpose committee to be in the name of the general-purpose committee, if at all? If sec.252.003(d) requires the name of every corporation which contributes to the general-purpose committee, must the name of every corporation appear in all communications, solicitations, drafts, and other documents to the public or may the name of every contributing corporation be maintained of record at the Ethics Commission's or Secretary of State's office only? AOR-140. The Department of Agriculture has asked for an advisory opinion in regard to gifts sent to the department. The request letter sets out the following background information. The department has regulatory oversight of and provides marketing assistance to various agricultural industries and occasionally receives general food items in addition to flowers and wine from both the public and members of these industries. As the department is directly involved in these industries, it is not unusual to receive samples of these items from business and individuals across the state. The department would like to accept these gifts on behalf of the department as a whole and would distribute them to our employees at random. In this context the department asks the following questions. Does the commission believe that the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Commissioner may receive these items as gifts? If the gifts may be received, what reporting guidelines must be followed? If the gifts may not be received, will the commission provide a statement to be included with the letter of appreciation from the department to the constituent to explain its return? The Texas Ethics Commission is authorized by Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6252- 9d.1, sec.1.29 to issue advisory opinions in regard to the following statutes: Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6252-9b; Chapter 302, Government Code; Chapter 305, Government Code; Title 15, Election Code; Chapter 36, Penal Code; and Chapter 39, Penal Code. Questions on particular submissions should be addressed to the Texas Ethics Commission, P.O. Box 12070, Austin, Texas 78711-2070, (512) 463-5800. Issued in Austin, Texas, on December 3, 1992. TRD-9216186 Sarah Woelk Director, Advisory Opinions Texas Ethics Commission Filed: December 4, 1992 For further information, please call: (512) 463-5800