Gift Made with Intent to Influence
No current state statute or regulation falls under the category of “Gift Made with Intent to Influence.”
Extra Compensation for Official Duties
No current state statute or regulation falls under the category of “Extra Compensation for Official Duties.”
Gift Regardless of Giver Status
(a) A public servant commits an offense if the public servant solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept an honorarium in consideration for services that the public servant would not have been requested to provide but for the public servant’s official position or duties.
(b) This section does not prohibit a public servant from accepting transportation and lodging expenses in connection with a conference or similar event in which the public servant renders services, such as addressing an audience or engaging in a seminar, to the extent that those services are more than merely perfunctory, or from accepting meals in connection with such an event.
(b-1) Transportation, lodging, and meals described by Subsection (b) are not political contributions as defined by Title 15, Election Code.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
Tex. Penal Code § 36.07.
Gift from Lobbyist or Regulated Entity
§ 305.024. Restrictions on Expenditures.
(a) [2 Versions: As amended by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 92] Except as provided by Section 305.025, a person registered under Section 305.005 or a person on the registrant’s behalf and with the registrant’s consent or ratification may not offer, confer, or agree to confer:
- to an individual described by Section 305.0062(a)(1), (2), (3), (4), or (5):
- (A) a loan, including the guarantee or endorsement of a loan; or
- (B) a gift of cash or a negotiable instrument as described by Section 3.104, Business & Commerce Code; or
- to an individual described by Section 305.0062(a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7):
- (A) an expenditure for transportation and lodging;
- (B) an expenditure or series of expenditures for entertainment that in the aggregate exceed $500 in a calendar year;
- (C) an expenditure or series of expenditures for gifts that in the aggregate exceed $500 in a calendar year;
- (D) an expenditure for an award or memento that exceeds $500; or
- (E) an expenditure described by Section 305.006(b)(1), (2), (3), or (6) unless the registrant is present at the event.
(a) [2 Versions: As amended by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 206] Except as provided by Section 305.025, a person registered under Section 305.005 or a person on the registrant’s behalf and with the registrant’s consent or ratification may not offer, confer, or agree to confer to a member of the legislative or executive branch:
- a loan, including the guarantee or endorsement of a loan;
- a gift of cash or a negotiable instrument as described by Section 3.104, Business & Commerce Code;
- an expenditure for transportation and lodging;
- an expenditure or series of expenditures for entertainment that in the aggregate exceed $500 in a calendar year;
- an expenditure or series of expenditures for gifts that in the aggregate exceed $500 in a calendar year;
- an expenditure for an award or memento that exceeds $500; or
- an expenditure described by Section 305.006(b)(1), (2), (3), or (6) unless:
- (A) the registrant is present at the event; or
- (B) the expenditure is for a gift of food or beverages required to be reported under Section 305.006(b)(4) in accordance with Section 305.0061(e-1).
(b) Except as provided by Section 305.025, a member of the legislative or executive branch may not solicit, accept, or agree to accept from a person registered under Section 305.005 or from a person on the registrant’s behalf and with the registrant’s consent or ratification an item listed in Subsection (a).
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the total value of a joint expenditure under Subsection (a)(2)(B), (C), or (D) may exceed $500 if each portion of the expenditure:
- is made by a registrant; and
- does not exceed $500.
Tex. Gov’t Code § 305.024.
§ 305.025. Exceptions.
Section 305.024 does not prohibit:
- a loan in the due course of business from a corporation or other business entity that is legally engaged in the business of lending money and that has conducted that business continuously for more than one year before the loan is made;
- a loan or guarantee of a loan or a gift made or given by a person related within the second degree by affinity or consanguinity to the member of the legislative or executive branch;
- necessary expenditures for transportation and lodging when the purpose of the travel is to explore matters directly related to the duties of a member of the legislative or executive branch, such as fact-finding trips, including attendance at informational conferences or an event described by Subdivision (4), but not including attendance at merely ceremonial events or pleasure trips;
- necessary expenditures for transportation, lodging, food and beverages, and entertainment provided in connection with a conference, seminar, educational program, or similar event in which the member renders services, such as addressing an audience or engaging in a seminar, to the extent that those services are more than merely perfunctory;
- an incidental expenditure for transportation as determined by commission rule; or
- a political contribution as defined by Section 251.001, Election Code.
Tex. Gov’t Code § 305.025.
§ 36.08. Gift to Public Servant by Person Subject to His Jurisdiction.
(a) A public servant in an agency performing regulatory functions or conducting inspections or investigations commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from a person the public servant knows to be subject to regulation, inspection, or investigation by the public servant or his agency.
(b) A public servant in an agency having custody of prisoners commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from a person the public servant knows to be in his custody or the custody of his agency.
(c) A public servant in an agency carrying on civil or criminal litigation on behalf of government commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from a person against whom the public servant knows litigation is pending or contemplated by the public servant or his agency.
(d) A public servant who exercises discretion in connection with contracts, purchases, payments, claims, or other pecuniary transactions of government commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from a person the public servant knows is interested in or likely to become interested in any contract, purchase, payment, claim, or transaction involving the exercise of his discretion.
(e) A public servant who has judicial or administrative authority, who is employed by or in a tribunal having judicial or administrative authority, or who participates in the enforcement of the tribunal’s decision, commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from a person the public servant knows is interested in or likely to become interested in any matter before the public servant or tribunal.
(f) A member of the legislature, the governor, the lieutenant governor, or a person employed by a member of the legislature, the governor, the lieutenant governor, or an agency of the legislature commits an offense if he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from any person.
(g) A public servant who is a hearing examiner employed by an agency performing regulatory functions and who conducts hearings in contested cases commits an offense if the public servant solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from any person who is appearing before the agency in a contested case, who is doing business with the agency, or who the public servant knows is interested in any matter before the public servant. The exception provided by Section 36.10(b) does not apply to a benefit under this subsection.
(h) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(i) A public servant who receives an unsolicited benefit that the public servant is prohibited from accepting under this section may donate the benefit to a governmental entity that has the authority to accept the gift or may donate the benefit to a recognized tax-exempt charitable organization formed for educational, religious, or scientific purposes.
Tex. Penal Code § 36.08.
§ 36.09 Offering Gift to Public Servant.
(a) A person commits an offense if he offers, confers, or agrees to confer any benefit on a public servant that he knows the public servant is prohibited by law from accepting.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
Tex. Penal Code § 36.09.
§ 36.10. Non-Applicable.
(a) Sections 36.08 (Gift to Public Servant) and 36.09 (Offering Gift to Public Servant) do not apply to:
- a fee prescribed by law to be received by a public servant or any other benefit to which the public servant is lawfully entitled or for which he gives legitimate consideration in a capacity other than as a public servant;
- a gift or other benefit conferred on account of kinship or a personal, professional, or business relationship independent of the official status of the recipient;
- a benefit to a public servant required to file a statement under Chapter 572, Government Code, or a report under Title 15, Election Code, that is derived from a function in honor or appreciation of the recipient if:
- (A) the benefit and the source of any benefit in excess of $50 is reported in the statement; and
- (B) the benefit is used solely to defray the expenses that accrue in the performance of duties or activities in connection with the office which are nonreimbursable by the state or political subdivision;
- a political contribution as defined by Title 15, Election Code;
- a gift, award, or memento to a member of the legislative or executive branch that is required to be reported under Chapter 305, Government Code;
- an item with a value of less than $50, excluding cash or a negotiable instrument as described by Section 3.104, Business & Commerce Code;
- an item issued by a governmental entity that allows the use of property or facilities owned, leased, or operated by the governmental entity;
- transportation, lodging, and meals described by Section 36.07(b); or
- complimentary legal advice or legal services relating to a will, power of attorney, advance directive, or other estate planning document rendered:
- (A) to a public servant who is a first responder; and
- (B) through a program or clinic that is:
- (i) operated by a local bar association or the State Bar of Texas; and
- (ii) approved by the head of the agency employing the public servant, if the public servant is employed by an agency.
(b) Section 36.08 (Gift to Public Servant) does not apply to food, lodging, transportation, or entertainment accepted as a guest and, if the donee is required by law to report those items, reported by the donee in accordance with that law.
(c) Section 36.09 (Offering Gift to Public Servant) does not apply to food, lodging, transportation, or entertainment accepted as a guest and, if the donor is required by law to report those items, reported by the donor in accordance with that law.
(d) Section 36.08 (Gift to Public Servant) does not apply to a gratuity accepted and reported in accordance with Section 11.0262, Parks and Wildlife Code. Section 36.09 (Offering Gift to Public Servant) does not apply to a gratuity that is offered in accordance with Section 11.0262, Parks and Wildlife Code.
(e) In this section, “first responder” means:
- a peace officer whose duties include responding rapidly to an emergency;
- fire protection personnel, as that term is defined by Section 419.021, Government Code;
- a volunteer firefighter who performs firefighting duties on behalf of a political subdivision and who is not serving as a member of the Texas Legislature or holding a statewide elected office;
- an ambulance driver; or
- an individual certified as emergency medical services personnel by the Department of State Health Services.
Tex. Penal Code § 36.10.
Definitions and Exceptions
Benefit Defined
In this chapter:
. . .
“Benefit” means anything reasonably regarded as pecuniary gain or pecuniary advantage, including benefit to any other person in whose welfare the beneficiary has a direct and substantial interest.
Tex. Penal Code § 36.01(3).
Notes/Resources
Resource(s)
Texas Ethics Commission, A Guide to Ethics Laws for State Officers and Employees
Texas “Can I Take It?” Guides:
