Fort Worth Star-Telegram /  / August 20, 2006 / Dave Lieber

Opinion by Texas attorney general clarifies disclosure law

          A tool that helps reveal financial relationships between public officials and vendors who do government business in Texas was reinforced this month.

          Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott released an opinion that gives public officials more direction on how to handle the requirements of the state's disclosure law, which has met with spotty compliance since taking effect, on Jan. 1.  The opinion helps spell out exactly who must comply and, in a few cases, who is exempted.

          Among those who asked Abbott to help clarify the law was its author, state Rep. Beverly Woolley, a Houston Republican.

          "The law doesn't say you can't do business with someone," Woolley told me in a telephone interview last week. "It just says the relationships have to be disclosed.

          "It's designed to give the citizens and taxpayers the information, so they can make the decision on whether they want it to happen or not. If they don't mind that, say, a City Council person has a business that does business with the city, well, so be it. At least it should be disclosed. That is the intent."

          The law requires many government officials to report when they or relatives receive gifts or taxable income worth more than $250 from anyone who does or wants to do business with the government.

          It covers city and county elected officials, city managers, school board members, superintendents and government board and commission members. Transportation, food, entertainment and lodging expenses are exempt.

          Additionally, the law requires all vendors who signed contracts to do business after Jan. 1 or who want to do business with a government to file conflict-of-interest questionnaires detailing family or business relationships with anyone in the government.

          The law could ultimately shake up the so-called good ol' boy network, in which some government officials do business with their friends, relatives or even one another.

          When I asked Woolley how she got her bill passed on votes of 131-0 in the House and 31-0 in the Senate, she chuckled and replied, "It may have something to do with the position in the House that I hold."

          What position? I asked.

          She is chairwoman of the House Calendars Committee. It schedules every bill that goes to the House floor for a final vote. Without committee approval, a legislator can't get a bill passed.

          The disclosure law has confused vendors and public officials. Although all vendors who sign contracts with or want to do business with a government are supposed to file the disclosure forms, a check of some municipal Web site shows that few have done so.

          Only 17 city vendors in Fort Worth and three in Arlington are listed as having filed, according to those cities' Web sites.

          The forms that are filed must be made available to the public at government offices or, for governments that serve large populations, on the Internet.

          Governments can void any contract if a vendor or official required to file did not do so. Governments can also reprimand, suspend or terminate public officials who do not comply.

          Vendors and officials who don't file could be fined up to $500, but the law allows a grace period for them to avoid prosecution if they quickly file after being told they have not.

          The Texas Municipal League, which trains officials and lobbies on behalf of cities, is holding a full-day workshop on the new law Monday in Austin.

          Woolley said that because of confusion surrounding the law, she expected low compliance initially. She called the law a "work in progress" that may be altered during the 2007 legislative session to address concerns that have arisen, such as confusion over who has to file and which volunteer boards must comply. But she said she hopes the law will not be weakened. Enforcement measures could be added later, but for now, taxpayers and reporters should help police the law, she said.

          She is an adamant believer in the need for the law: "We have seen problems in different governmental entities, and the more information we can give taxpayers and citizens to make judgments, the more open our government will be. It shouldn't be a problem for anyone that's not doing anything wrong."

Disclosure law

          Here are some of the important points in Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's opinion on the new vendor disclosure law:

          -  Professional services contracts, such as no-bid contracts with lawyers, financial consultants, insurance brokers and engineers, are subject to disclosure.

          - Besides individual vendors, business partnerships and corporations must also file.

          - A local government is not required to force vendors to comply or even notify vendors of the requirements. A local government can cancel a contract with a vendor who did not file.

          - All vendors must file a disclosure statement even if there are no personal relationships with government officials. Local governments must post the information on their Web sites if they have them.

          - Vendors with contracts signed before Jan. 1 are not required to file, but any contract changes after that are subject to disclosure requirements.

          - The law does not apply to charter schools or regional education service centers.

          - The law applies even when the vendor is related to a local government official.

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