Conflicts-of-Interest

Statutory conflict-of-interest provisions governing local officials.

1. If a trustee has a substantial interest in a business entity or in real property, the trustee shall file, before a vote or decision on any matter involving the business entity or the real property, an affidavit stating the nature and extent of the interest and shall abstain from further participation in the matter if: a. In the case of a substantial interest in a business entity the action on the matter will have a special economic effect on the business entity that is distinguishable from the effect on the public; or b. In the case of a substantial interest in real property, it is reasonably foreseeable that an action on the matter will have a special economic effect on the value of the property, distinguishable from its effect on the public.
2. The board of trustees of the [retirement system] shall take a separate vote on any budget item specifically dedicated to a contract with a business entity in which a trustee has a substantial interest. The affected trustee may not participate in that separate vote. The trustee may vote on a final budget if the trustee has complied with Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 171; and the matter in which the trustee is concerned has been resolved.