Se Texas Record Dawn Geske Feb. 28, 2017
In a move that will put legislators under more scrutiny and provide more governmental transparency, the Texas Senate has approved the ethics reform bill SB 14.
Passing by a unanimous vote by the Texas Senate, the bill will next head to the House of Representatives for a vote. The bill, which was championed by Sen. Van Taylor, will allow for government retirement funds to be stripped of legislators convicted of a felony as well as provide more disclosures on contracts and expenditures and separates elected officials from lobbyists.
Under SB 14, any legislator that is convicted of a felony while in office for a litany of crimes such as bribery, embezzlement, extortion, theft of public money or perjury to name a few, will lose their rights to their pension. All payments of the retirement system will cease if convicted. If the charge is overturned, annuity payments will continue and interest on the payments will be paid.
Disclosure of government contracts by legislators was also defined in SB 14, bring more transparency to their roles and allowing for reporting on which contracts that they hold.
If approved, SB 14 will also provide for requirements by lobbyists to report all expenditures. Under this section of the bill, lobbyists must report expenditures that exceed 30 percent of the amount of the legislative per diem. This includes transportation, lodging, food, beverage and entertainment for members of the legislative or executive branch as well as for immediate family members.
A report will need to be filed to disclose to whom the expenditure was made in addition to date, location, and purpose of the expenditure. This section of SB 14 also includes disclosing gifts, awards or mementos received that exceed the value of $50 each.
http://setexasrecord.com/stories/511085445-ethics-reform-bill-passes-texas-senate-moves-to-house
