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Conflicts of Interest Requiring Disclosure
Copyright 2006 by TASB Policy and
Legal Services; all rights reserved.
A webwork of state laws, including HB 914 from the
79th Legislature, imposes on board members and superintendents
(and their relatives), district vendors, and, potentially, district
employees various requirements pertaining to disclosure of conflicts
of interests.
The charts below tease out that tangle.
If you are
a board member...
If you
are a superintendent...
If you are a
relative (in the first degree) of a board member or of the
super-intendent...
If
you are a district employee...
If you are a
vendor...
The charts capture in highly summarized form only
those conflicts of interest for which there is a specific disclosure
requirement. The law prescribes a wide range of other conflicts of
interest and ethical requirements. See BBFA(LEGAL), BBFB(LEGAL) and
DBD(LEGAL).
These charts are provided for educational purposes
only to facilitate a general understand-ing of the law. They are not
an exhaustive treatment of the law nor intended to substitute for the
advice of an attorney. Consult you own attorneys to apply these legal
principles to spe-cific fact situations.
Conflicts of Interest Requiring Disclosure
If you are a board member...
|
What kind of con-flicts require disclo-sure? |
What is the policy? |
What action is required? |
To whom is the disclosure made? |
|
Substantial interest in business or real property
|
See BBFA(LEGAL) |
File affidavit before a vote or decision [See
BBFA(EXHIBIT)-A] and abstain from participation |
Board secretary or other official record-keeper
for the board |
|
Any interest in real property to be acquired with
district funds |
See BBFA(LEGAL) |
File affidavit before property is to be acquired
[See BBFA(EXHIBIT)-B] |
County clerk(s) of county where prop-erty is
located and where board member resides |
|
Business relationship with a vendor that results
in receipt of taxable income or offer of cer-tain gifts |
See BBFA(LEGAL) |
File Conflicts Dis-closure Statement (Form CIS
) from the Texas Ethics Commission
(http://www.ethics. state.tx.us/forms/ CIS.pdf) |
District’s records ad-ministrator [See CPC(LOCAL)];
the district must provide access to filed state-ments on the
dis-trict’s Web site. |
See the "Relatives " section below for
information on those requirements.
Copyright 2006 by TASB Policy and Legal Services; all rights
reserved. Page 2 Conflicts of Interest Requiring Disclosure
If you are a
superintendent...
|
What kind of con-flicts require disclo-sure? |
What is the policy? |
What action is required? |
To whom is the disclosure made? |
|
Substantial interest in business or real property
|
See DBD(LOCAL) |
File affidavit before award of contract or payment
by dis-trict [See DBD(EHXIBIT)-A] |
Board president or designee |
|
Any interest in real property to be acquired with
district funds |
See DBD(LOCAL) |
File affidavit before property is to be acquired
[See DBD(EHXIBIT)-B] |
County clerk(s) of county where prop-erty is
located and where superintendent resides |
|
Business relationship with a vendor that results
in receipt of taxable income or offer of cer-tain gifts |
See BBFA(LEGAL) and DBD(LOCAL) |
File Conflicts Dis-closure Statement (Form CIS
) from the Texas Ethics Commission
(http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/forms/ CIS.pdf) |
District’s records ad-ministrator [See CPC(LOCAL)];
the district must provide access to the filed statements on the
district’s Web site. |
See the "Relatives " section below for
information on those requirements.
Copyright 2006 by TASB Policy and Legal Services; all rights
reserved. Page 3 Conflicts of Interest Requiring Disclosure
If you are a relative (in
the first degree) of a board member or of the superintendent...
|
What kind of con-flicts require disclo-sure? |
What is the policy? |
What action is required? |
To whom is the disclosure made? |
|
Substantial interest in business or real property
|
See BBFA(LEGAL) and DBD(LOCAL) |
Board member or superintendent must file affidavit
before a vote or decision. Board member must ab-stain from
partici-pation in decision. |
Board secretary or other official record-keeper
for the board (board members); board president or designee (superin-tendent)
|
|
Business relationship with a vendor that results
in receipt of taxable income or offer of cer-tain gifts |
See BBFA(LEGAL) |
Board member or superintendent files Conflicts Dis-closure
Statement (Form CIS ) from the Texas Ethics Commission
(http://www.ethics. state.tx.us/forms/ CIS.pdf) |
District’s records ad-ministrator [See CPC(LOCAL)];
the district must provide access to the filed statements on the
district’s Web site. |
Copyright 2006 by TASB Policy and Legal Services; all rights
reserved. Page 4 Conflicts of Interest Requiring Disclosure
If you are a district
employee...
|
What kind of con-flicts require disclo-sure? |
What is the policy? |
What action is required? |
To whom is the disclosure made? |
|
Financial or business interest or any
obligation/relationship that creates a conflict with du-ties or
with best interest of dis-trict. [This language is the general
standard commonly adopted by boards.] |
See DBD(LOCAL) |
Disclosure |
Immediate supervisor |
|
Substantial interest in business or real property
if in a position to affect a financial decision, if required by
local policy |
See DBD(LOCAL) |
File affidavit before award of contract or payment
by dis-trict [See DBD(EXHIBIT)-A] |
Superintendent, board president, or a designee
|
|
Business relationship with a vendor that results
in receipt of taxable income or offer of cer-tain gifts, but only
if required by local policy |
See DBD(LOCAL) |
File Conflicts Dis-closure Statement (Form CIS
) from the Texas Ethics Commission
(http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/forms/ CIS.pdf) |
District’s records ad-ministrator [See CPC(LOCAL)];
the district must provide access to filed state-ments on the
dis-trict’s Web site. |
Copyright 2006 by TASB Policy and Legal Services; all rights
reserved. Page 5 Conflicts of Interest Requiring Disclosure
If you are a vendor...
|
What kind of con-flicts require disclo-sure? |
What is the policy? |
What action is required? |
To whom is the disclosure made? |
|
Affiliations or business rela-tionships that might
cause a conflict of interest |
See CHE(LEGAL) |
File Conflict of In-terest Question-naire (Form
CIQ ) from the Texas Ethics Commission
(http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/forms/ CIQ.pdf) |
District’s records ad-ministrator [See CPC(LOCAL)];
the district must provide access to filed ques-tionnaires on the
dis-trict’s Web site. |
Copyright 2006 by TASB Policy and Legal Services; all rights
reserved. Page 6
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