Opinions

Cumulative Digest of Ethics Advisory Opinions

2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020

2016 Opinions

EAO No. 535 (2016) – Under the facts as described in this opinion, an attorney who accepts an invitation from a member of the legislative branch to discuss pending legislation with the intent to influence legislation, and who receives compensation in excess of $1,000 in a calendar quarter, would be required to register as a lobbyist under chapter 305 of the Government Code.

EAO No. 536 (2016) – A judicial officeholder may use political contributions to pay reasonable and necessary travel expenses to teach at the legal conference described in this request.

EAO No. 537 (2016) – A legislator may accept a tax deduction for the donation of property or money to the state if the legislator is lawfully entitled to receive the deduction under the applicable federal or Texas tax laws and the valuation of the donation is not connected to the legislator's status as a public servant.

EAO No. 538 (2016) – For purposes of section 255.003 of the Election Code, the attached brochure is not political advertising and, therefore, public funds may be used to distribute the brochure unless an officer or employee of the city authorizing such use of public funds knows that the brochure contains false information.

EAO No. 539 (2016) – The revolving door law provided by section 572.054(b) of the Government Code does not prohibit a former TCEQ employee from performing certain services described in this opinion on behalf of a private firm related to the remediation of leaking underground storage tanks.

EAO No. 540 (2016) – **Overruled, Modified, Clarified, or Superseded** Based on section 26.1 of the Texas Ethics Commission’s rules, political advertising that is broadcast by radio is not required to include a disclosure statement. Such a result is an unintended consequence of the rule, and the commission will amend rule 26.1 to clarify the manner in which a disclosure statement, when required by section 255.001 of the Election Code, must appear in political advertising that is broadcast by radio.

EAO No. 541 (2017) – A prepaid debit card or gift card is considered to be cash for purposes of section 36.10(a)(6) of the Penal Code.

EAO No. 542 (2017) – Under the facts presented, a legislative caucus would not be required to disclose the misappropriation of its funds by a former employee as an expenditure or disclose the return of those funds by the former employee as a contribution. The legislative moratorium on contributions to the caucus from nonmembers would not prohibit the caucus from accepting the return of those misappropriated funds by the former employee.

2017 Opinions

EAO No. 541 (2017) – A prepaid debit card or gift card is considered to be cash for purposes of section 36.10(a)(6) of the Penal Code.

EAO No. 543 (2017) – Based on the requestor’s facts described in this opinion, the executive director of a state agency would not receive an “honorarium” for purposes of section 36.07(a) of the Penal Code or a “benefit” for purposes of section 36.08 of the Penal Code by accepting a reimbursement of certain travel expenses that are payable by the state agency. The executive director would not be required to report the reimbursement on a personal financial statement.

EAO No. 544 (2017) – The inspector general for the Health and Human Services Commission is a “state officer” required to file a personal financial statement under Chapter 572 of the Government Code.

EAO No. 545 (2017) – Section 572.069 of the Government Code prohibits a former state employee from providing the services described before the second anniversary of the date on which the employee’s service or employment with the state agency.

2018 Opinions

EAO No. 546 (2018) – A judge may use political contributions to pay the costs associated with membership in an organization that helps its members develop leadership skills if the judge’s primary purpose in paying the costs is to facilitate the duties or activities of the judicial office.

EAO No. 547 (2018) – Under the facts presented, a candidate may use political contributions to pay childcare expenses to facilitate the candidate’s participation in campaign activities.

EAO No. 548 (2018) – Section 255.006 of the Election Code does not prohibit an associate judge from wearing judicial robes or referring to the judge in political advertising as "Associate Judge, 1000th District Court, Texas County."

2019 Opinions

EAO No. 549 (2019) – The secretary of state is not a "statewide officeholder" or "holder of a statewide office" for purposes of Title 15 of the Election Code ("Title 15").

EAO No. 550 (2019) – A public officer, including a statewide officer, legislator, county officer, municipal officer, or school district officer, would be prohibited from using government resources, such as the officer’s office in a government building, to create a photograph, video, or other communication for political advertising because the officer has custody or possession of the government resources by virtue of holding the public office.

EAO No. 551 (2019) – If under normal business practices the total cost for Internet political advertising during a periodic billing cycle is not known until the end of the billing cycle, the date of the expenditure for reporting purposes is the date the advertiser receives the periodic bill, consistent with section 254.035(b) of the Election Code and section 20.57(b) of the Texas Ethics Commission’s Rules.

2020 Opinions

EAO No. 552 (2020) – 1. A city employee does not violate section 255.003(a) of the Election Code by allowing members of the public to display or distribute political advertising at a city-owned facility during or in connection with a candidate debate or forum if the city-owned facility is rented to and paid for by the sponsor of the candidate debate or forum, and if the sponsor uses non-public funds to pay the city its standard rental rate for the use of the city-owned facility. 2. A city employee does not knowingly authorize the spending of public funds for political advertising as prohibited under section 255.003(a) of the Election Code if members of the public display or distribute political advertising in a city-owned room that is rented to and paid for by the sponsor of a candidate debate or forum and the sponsor uses non-public funds to pay the city its standard rental rate for the use of the city-owned room. 3. A city employee does not knowingly authorize the spending of public funds for political advertising as prohibited under section 255.003(a) of the Election Code if members of the public display or distribute political advertising in a corridor outside the city-owned room rented to and paid for by the sponsor of a candidate debate or forum or in the parking lot of the city-owned facility where the candidate debate or forum is being conducted, and the city employee takes no action to prevent the display or distribution of the political advertising.

EAO No. 553 (2020) – Neither section 36.07 of the Penal Code nor section 253.034(a) of the Election Code prohibits an elected officeholder from accepting from a political committee transportation, lodging, and meals, or reimbursement for expenses for transportation, lodging, and meals, during a regular legislative session to attend and perform official actions at the political committee's meetings provided that the officeholder renders services at the meeting that are not merely perfunctory.

EAO No. 554 (2020) – A contribution from a federal political committee to a federal Super PAC is a political expenditure made in connection with elections voted on in Texas only if the federal political committee intends for the contribution to be used to support or oppose a candidate or measure in an election voted on in Texas. Conversely, a contribution to a Super PAC for a general or unspecified purpose is not a political expenditure made in connection with elections voted on in Texas.

EAO No. 555 (2020) – A judge may use political contributions to pay ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with producing an educational podcast for practicing lawyers.

EAO No. 556 (2020) – To be “present” for purposes of Texas Government Code Sections 305.006(f) or 305.024(a), a registered lobbyist must share a physical location with the recipient of the expenditure.

EAO No. 557 (2020) – Because the Commission’s rules exclude from the definition of “contribution” any “transfer for consideration of anything of value pursuant to a contract that reflects the usual and normal business practice of the vendor,”¹ an apparel company providing goods and services to candidates, political parties, and political committees before receiving payment from those purchasing the campaign apparel does not make a political contribution if the company offers the same terms “to political and non-political entities alike.” See Tex. Ethics Comm’n Op. No. 533 (2015); Tex. Ethics Comm’n Op. No. 143 (1993).

However, the apparel company’s customers are making political contributions when they purchase the campaign merchandise. Accordingly, any participating candidate, party, or committee would need the apparel company to keep a record of all reportable activity necessary for filing the required reports.

EAO No. 558 (2020) – A limited liability company that, for the purpose of making a profit, operates a contribution-processing website platform that serves as an intermediary between a person intending to make a political contribution to a specific candidate and the candidate receiving the political contribution does not make a political contribution and thus does not need to appoint a campaign treasurer or file campaign finance reports. However, the intermediary must collect and provide information about each contribution to the recipients of those contributions so that the recipients can comply with their reporting obligations. The recipients must report the full amount given to the intermediary as political contributions and separately report any deductions for processing fees or commissions as political expenditures.