(b) Under section 2152.064 of the Government Code the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) “Commission member,” “appointee,” and “employee” includes the spouse or dependent child of a commission member, appointee, or employee.
(2) “Have an interest in” or “in any manner be connected with,” means a right, share, equitable or legal claim to, or pecuniary interest in, a contract or bid, or a recipient of state surplus or salvage property under control of the commission.
(3) “Value,” “reward,” and “compensation” includes anything with a monetary value of $5 or more.
We all know what a sales rep is all about. The more sales! The more money!
§ 572.005. Determination of Substantial Interest
An individual has a substantial interest in a business entity if the individual:
(1) has a controlling interest in the business entity;
(2) owns more than 10 percent of the voting interest in the business entity;
(3) owns more than $25,000 of the fair market value of the business entity;
(4) has a direct or indirect participating interest by shares, stock, or otherwise, regardless of whether voting rights are included, in more than 10 percent of the profits, proceeds, or capital gains of the business entity;
(5) is a member of the board of directors or other governing board of the business entity;
(6) serves as an elected officer of the business entity; or
(7) is an employee of the business entity.
We know that Gene Espinoza works for Rio Grande Steel.
§ 572.058. Private Interest in Measure or Decision; Disclosure; Removal From Office for Violation
(a) An elected or appointed officer, other than an officer subject to impeachment under Article XV, Section 2, of the Texas Constitution, who is a member of a board or commission having policy direction over a state agency and who has a personal or private interest in a measure, proposal, or decision pending before the board or commission shall publicly disclose the fact to the board or commission in a meeting called and held in compliance with Chapter 551. The officer may not vote or otherwise participate in the decision. The disclosure shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting.
(b) An individual who violates this section is subject to removal from office on the petition of the attorney general on the attorney general’s own initiative or on the relation of a resident or of any other member of the board or commission. The suit must be brought in a district court of Travis County or of the county where the violation is alleged to have been committed.
