SECTION 11.7. Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy

(a) If a member, agent, or employee of the Texas Historical Commission has a conflict of interest in any transaction involving the selection, award, or administration of historic preservation funds, state historic preservation grants, or museum grants, he or she may not participate in a vote, discussion, or decision about the matter.

(b) A person has a conflict of interest in such a transaction if a financial benefit as a result of such a transaction is likely to be received by any of the following:

(1) the person;

(2) any member of the person's immediately family, which includes spouse and any minor children;

(3) a business partner of the person; or

(4) any organization for profit in which the person or any persons of paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection is serving or is about to serve as an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee.

(c) A financial benefit includes, but is not limited to, grant money, contract, subcontract, royalty, commission, contingency, brokerage fee, gratuity, favor, or any other thing of pecuniary value.

(d) Ethics Policy.

(1) Pursuant to §572.051(c) of the Texas Government Code, the commission promulgates the following ethics policy.

(2) This ethics policy prescribes standards of conduct for all commission employees.

(3) This ethics policy does not supersede any applicable federal or Texas law or administrative rule.

(4) All commission employees must familiarize themselves with this ethics policy.

(5) All commission employees must abide by all applicable federal and Texas laws, administrative rules, and commission conduct policies, including this ethics policy. A commission employee who violates any provision of the commission's ethics policies is subject to termination of the employee's state employment or another employment-related sanction. A commission employee who violates any applicable federal or Texas law or rule may be subject to civil or criminal penalties in addition to any employment-related sanction.

(e) Standards of Conduct.

(1) A commission employee shall not:

(A) accept or solicit any gift, favor, or service that might reasonably tend to influence the employee in the discharge of official duties, or that the employee knows or should know is being offered with the intent to influence the employee's official conduct;

(B) intentionally or knowingly solicit, accept, or agree to accept any benefit for having exercised his or her official powers or performed his or her official duties in favor of another;

(C) disclose confidential information, information that is excepted from public disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act (Texas Government Code Annotated Chapter 552), or information that has been ordered sealed by a court, that was acquired by reason of the employee's official position, or accept other employment, including self-employment, or engage in a business, charity, nonprofit organization, or professional activity that the employee might reasonably expect would require or induce the employee to disclose confidential information, information that is excepted from public disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act, or information that has been ordered sealed by a court, that was acquired by reason of the employee's official position;

(D) accept other employment, including self-employment, or compensation or engage in a business, charity, nonprofit organization, or professional activity that could reasonably be expected to impair the employee's independence of judgment in the performance of the employee's official duties;

(E) make personal investments, or have a personal or financial interest, that could reasonably be expected to create a substantial conflict between the employee's private interest and the public interest;

(F) utilize state time, property, facilities, or equipment for any purpose other than official state business, unless such use is reasonable and incidental and does not result in any direct cost to the state or commission, interfere with the employee's official duties, and interfere with commission functions;

(G) utilize his or her official position, or state issued items, such as a badge, indicating such position for financial gain, obtaining privileges, or avoiding consequences of illegal acts;

(H) knowingly make misleading statements, either oral or written, or provide false information, in the course of official state business; or

(I) engage in any political activity while on state time or utilize state resources for any political activity.

(2) A commission employee shall:

(A) perform his or her official duties in a lawful, professional, and ethical manner befitting the state and the commission; and

(B) report any conduct or activity that the employee believes to be in violation of this ethics policy to his or her division director, or, if the division director is involved in the conduct or activity, to the executive director.

Source Note: The provisions of this §11.7 adopted to be effective December 31, 1984, 9 TexReg 6315; amended to be effective July 9, 1996, 21 TexReg 5971; amended to be effective March 10, 2009, 34 TexReg 1583; amended to be effective September 2, 2013, 38 TexReg 5709