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(a) Special rules.
(1) Acquisition of interest in impending or decided matters. A city official or employee shall not acquire an interest (economic or otherwise) in any matter:
(A) if the official or employee knows that the interest will be affected by upcoming official action of the city.
(B) affected by an official action of the city for a period of one year after the date of the official action.
(2) Reciprocal favors. A city official or employee may not enter into an agreement or understanding with any other person that official action by the official or employee will be rewarded or reciprocated.
(3) Benefits to previous employers. A city official or employee may not, within 12 months of beginning his or her employment or service with the city, award a contract or participate in a matter benefiting a person or business entity that formerly employed the city official or employee.
(4) Area of notification conflict.
(A) General. A city official or employee shall not take official action on, or otherwise participate in, a matter if the city official or employee has an ownership interest, a lease, or other economic interest in a property within the area of notification listed in:
(1) Sections 51A-1.105(a) and (b) (zoning and board of adjustment applications);
(2) Section 51A-4.701 (authorized zoning cases);
For purposes of this paragraph, ECONOMIC INTEREST includes, but is not limited to, legal or equitable property interests in land, chattels, and intangibles, and contractual rights, having more than de minimis value.
(B) Recusal and disclosure. A city official or employee who has an ownership interest, a lease, or other economic interest in a property within the area of notification in Subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall follow the recusal and disclosure requirements in Section 12A-24
of this chapter.
(b) Board of directors of a reinvestment zone.
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a member of the board of directors of a reinvestment zone established under the Tax Increment Financing Act, as amended, may:
(A) own property within that reinvestment zone; and
(B) participate in discussions and voting on matters before the board of directors that may indirectly affect the member's property within the reinvestment zone, but must follow the recusal and disclosure requirements in Section 12A-24 on matters before the board of directors that may directly affect the member's property in the reinvestment zone.
(2) For purposes of this subsection, a matter directly affects a member's property in the reinvestment zone if the matter involves a project in the reinvestment zone that is:
(A) financed with tax increment funds; and
(B) located within 200 feet of the member's property.
(c) City officials and employees serving in policymaking positions for business entities at the direction of the city. The restrictions and requirements of Section 12A-24
of this chapter do not apply to a city official or employee serving as an officer or director or in any other policymaking position for a business entity when taking official action on behalf of the city on matters concerning that business entity, if the city official or employee:
(1) was appointed by the mayor, city council, or city manager to represent the city as an officer or director or in any other policymaking position for the business entity; and
(2) has no substantial economic interest in the business entity or in the matter on which the action is being taken as defined in Texas Local Government Code Section 171.002, as amended.
(a) Purpose and procedures.
(1) Donations of money, real estate, products, and services to the city allow residents to make valuable contributions to city programs and should be encouraged. Persons and business entities making donations should not, however, expect any reward, reciprocal benefit, or influence.
(2) Donations must be documented to ensure transparency of government, enable measurement of the value and usefulness of the donation, and allow for audits of donations.
(3) For long-term or complex projects and projects involving professional services, an agreement must be drafted to document the scope of goods or services to be donated and to document which party retains ownership of intellectual property. If a donation will lead to city expenditures, expenditures must follow the procurement process if required by city code or state law.
(b) General rule.
(1) A city official, employee, or department shall not solicit, accept, or agree to accept any donation to the city of money, real estate, products, or services that:
(A) reasonably tends to influence or reward official conduct; or
(B) the city official, employee, or department knows is intended to influence or reward the discharge of official duties.
(2) A person or business entity shall not knowingly offer any donation to the city of money, real estate, products, or services that:
(A) reasonably tends to influence or reward official conduct; or
(B) the person or business entity knows is intended to influence or reward the discharge of official duties.
(c) Reporting. City officials, employees, and departments receiving a donation to the city shall report the donation in compliance with Article VI.
(a) Appointment or employment of relatives.
(1) A city official or employee shall not appoint, or take any action to influence the appointment of, his or her relative to a quasi-judicial board or commission within the city.
(2) A city council member shall not appoint any fellow city council member's relative to the ethics advisory commission or to any quasi-judicial board or commission within the city.
(3) A city official or employee shall not appoint or employ, or take any action to influence the appointment or employment of, his or her relative to any position of employment within the city.
(b) Supervision of relatives. In addition to the nepotism restrictions of Section 34-5
(d) of the city code for employees, no city official shall be permitted to be the immediate supervisor of his or her relative.
(a) Improper access. A city official or employee shall not use his or her position to access official information about any person or entity for any purpose other than the performance of official responsibilities.
(b) Improper disclosure or use. A city official or employee shall not knowingly disclose any confidential government information gained by reason of the official's or employee's position. This subsection does not prohibit:
(1) any disclosure that is no longer confidential government information;
(2) the confidential reporting of illegal or unethical conduct to authorities designated by law; or
(3) any disclosure, not otherwise prohibited by law, in furtherance of public safety.
(c) Disclosure of a closed meeting. A city official or employee shall not knowingly disclose to a member of the public the certified agenda, the recording, or the discussion had within a meeting that was lawfully closed to the public, unless the disclosure is made with lawful authority.
(a) Representation before the city.
(1) General rule.
(A) Representation for compensation. A city official or employee shall not represent, for compensation, any person, group, or entity (other than themselves or the city official's or employee's relative) before the city. For purposes of this subsection, "compensation" means money or any other thing of value that is received or is to be received in return for or in connection with such representation.
(B) Representation without compensation. A city official or employee who is a member of a board, commission, or body shall not represent any person, group, or entity before:
(i) that city official's or employee's board, commission, or body;
(ii) city staff having responsibility for making recommendations to, or taking any action on behalf of, that board, commission, or body; or
(iii) a board, commission, or body that has appellate jurisdiction over the board, commission, or body of which the city official or employee is a member, if any issue relates to the official's or employee's duties.
(2) Exceptions. The restrictions in this subsection do not apply to:
(A) A person who is a city official only because that person is an appointed member of a board, commission, or body, may represent for compensation a person, group, or entity before the city so long as the representation is not before the board, commission, or body that the person is a member of.
(B) If the representation is before a board, commission, or body, of which the city official or employee is a member, that is only advisory in nature.
(C) An employee who is a duly designated representative of an association of municipal employees may represent that association before the city if otherwise permissible by state law.
(D) A member of a municipal management district board.
(3) Prestige of office and improper influence. In connection with the representation of private interests before the city, a city official or employee shall not:
(A) assert the prestige of the city official's or employee's position for the purpose of advancing private interest; or
(B) state or imply that the city official or employee can influence city action on any basis other than the merits.
(4) Campaign disclosure.
(A) Applicability.
(1) A person who was paid to participate in, or served as a campaign treasurer in, a sitting councilmember's most recent city council campaign and who represents themselves, their client, their employer, or another third party at a public or private city meeting where at least one councilmember is present must disclose that participation. A "campaign treasurer" is the person designated as a campaign treasurer for a candidate under the Texas Election Code.
(2) A person who represents at a public or private city meeting where at least one councilmember is present the interests of a person or entity that was paid to participate in a sitting councilmember's most recent city council campaign must disclose that participation.
(B) Disclosure requirement. Campaign participation must be disclosed verbally immediately:
(1) after stating his or her name and address for the record during a public city meeting where the representation is taking place; or
(2) at the beginning of a private city meeting.
The most recent campaign includes both the campaign for the general election and the runoff election, if applicable.
(b) Representation in litigation adverse to the city.
(1) Officials and employees (other than board and commission members). A city official or employee, other than a person who is classified as an official only because that person is an appointed member of a board, commission, or body, shall not represent any person, group, or entity (other than themselves or their relative) in any litigation to which the city is a party, if the interests of that person, group, or entity are adverse to the interests of the city. This rule does not prohibit an employee who is a duly designated representative of an association of municipal employees from such representation if otherwise permissible under state law.
(2) Board and commission members. A person who is a city official only because that person is an appointed member of a board, commission, or body shall not represent any person, group, or entity (other than themselves or their relative) in any litigation to which the city is a party, if the interests of that person, group, or entity are adverse to the interests of the city and the matter is substantially related to the official's duties to the city.
(3) Affiliates of officials and employees. Subject to applicable professional ethical standards, the restrictions stated in Subsections (b)(1) and (b)(2) do not apply to representation by a partner or other affiliate of a city official or employee so long as the city official or employee does not participate in any manner whatsoever in the partner's or affiliate's representation.
(a) General rule. A city official or employee shall not:
(1) solicit, accept, or engage in concurrent outside employment that could reasonably be expected to impair independence of judgment in, or faithful performance of, official duties; or
(2) personally provide services for compensation, directly or indirectly, to a person or organization that is requesting an approval, an investigation, or a determination from the body or department of which the official or employee is a member.
(b) Exception. The restrictions stated in Subsection (a) do not apply to:
(1) outside employment of a city official if the employment is the official's primary source of income; or
(2) a member of a municipal management district board.
(c) Other rules. The general rule stated in Subsection (a) applies in addition to all other rules relating to outside employment of city officials and employees, including requirements for obtaining prior approval of outside employment as applicable.
(d) Public utility corporations. An employee of the city may accept employment from a public utility corporation enjoying the grant of a franchise, privilege, or easement from the city if the:
(1) employee is to perform the duties of a security guard for the public utility corporation;
(2) employment is approved by the employee's department head; and
(a) A city official or employee shall not use, request, or permit the use of city facilities, personnel, equipment, or supplies for private purposes (including political purposes).
(b) A city council member shall not use, request, or permit the use of city facilities, personnel (including
city employees), equipment, or supplies for any campaign expenditure, campaign contribution, political advertising, or campaign communication as defined in Title 15, "Regulating Political Funds and Campaigns," of the Texas Election Code, as amended, and Texas Ethics Commission rules, regulations, and opinions.
(c) City officials and employees may not apply for or obtain an incentive offered by the city, including grants, loans, tax abatements, and tax credits, unless the incentive is available to the general public, the application is evaluated under the same criteria that apply to the general public, and the incentive is subject to the same terms and conditions that apply to the general public. (Ord. Nos. 24316; 30391; 32072; 32472)
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