What did the 1991 law creating the Texas Ethics Commission TEC fail to do

On November 5, 1991, Texas voters approved an amendment that added a new provision, Article III, Section 24a, to the Texas Constitution. The constitutional amendment created the Texas Ethics Commission.

Constitutional Duties

The Texas Constitution provides that the Texas Ethics Commission may recommend the salary of members of the Legislature, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, subject to approval by the voters at the subsequent general election for state and county officers. Also, the Commission must set the per diem of members of the Legislature and of the Lieutenant Governor. The Legislature is to determine the other powers and duties of the Commission.

Statutory Duties

Statutory duties of the Texas Ethics Commission are set out in Chapter 571 of the Government Code. The agency is responsible for administering and enforcing these laws:

1. Title 15, Election Code, concerning political contributions and expenditures, and political advertising;
2. Chapter 302, Government Code, concerning the election of the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives;
3. Chapter 303, Government Code, concerning the governor for a day and speaker's reunion day ceremonies;
4. Chapter 305, Government Code, concerning lobbyist registration, reports, and activities;
5. Chapter 572, Government Code, concerning personal financial disclosure of state officers and conduct of state officers and employees;
6. Chapter 2004 Government Code, concerning representation before state agencies;
7. Chapter 159, Local Government Code, concerning judges of statutory county courts or statutory probate courts who elect to file a financial statement with the Commission;
8. Section 2152.064, Government Code, concerning Conflict of Interest in Certain Transactions involving the Texas Facilities Commission; and
9. Section 2155.003, Government Code, concerning Conflict of Interest involving the Office of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

The Texas Ethics Commission has eight commissioners.  Four of the commissioners are appointed by the Governor, two are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and two are appointed by the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Members of the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives who represent each political party submit lists of nominees to the appropriate state official for appointment. The commissioners serve four-year terms.

The Texas Ethics Commission does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in employment or the provision of services. If you have any questions regarding job vacancies with the commission or need to request a reasonable accommodation during the application process, contact Cristina Hernandez, Human Resources Specialist, at (512) 463-5800.

All TEC job postings are available on the state’s CAPPS online application system.

Employees play an essential role in meeting the agency's mission. The Commission's duties to the public require the honesty, intelligence, and hard work of employees with diverse skills and knowledge. The Commission cannot perform its mission without its skilled employees performing at their best.

Mission Statement

The Texas Ethics Commission provides a variety of services related to the laws administered.

Agency Services

Currently, the Commission is charged with administering the following laws:

• Title 15 of the Texas Election Code, governing political contributions and expenditures, and political advertising;
• Chapter 305, Texas Government Code, relating to lobbyist registration and activities;
• Chapter 572, Texas Government Code, regarding personal financial disclosure and conduct of state officers and employees;
• Chapter 302, Texas Government Code, concerning the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
• Chapter 303, Texas Government Code, concerning the governor for a day and speaker’s reunion day ceremonies;
• Chapter 2004, Texas Government Code, concerning representation before state agencies; and
• Chapter 159, Local Government Code, concerning judges of statutory county courts or probate courts who elect to file a financial statement with the Commission.

The Commission serves as a repository for reports that are required by these laws; it serves as a resource for interpretation of these laws (by issuing advisory opinions); it has rule making authority with respect to these laws; it processes sworn complaints filed in connection with these laws; and it provides training for state employees and officeholders for compliance with these laws.

Other services include providing telephone assistance to filers needing technical support with the electronic filing system and offering informal, non-binding ethics guidance through the Legal Helpline regarding the laws administered and enforced by the Commission.

Copies of public records are available upon written request; however, most information is available on the Texas Ethics Commission web page.

Advisory opinions requests are answered within 60 days. Advisory opinions are adopted at public meetings of the Commission, which are generally held every 60-90 days. Sworn complaints are processed within 5 working days of receipt with a letter to both the complainant and the respondent regarding the Commission’s determination of compliance or non-compliance.

Customer-Related Performance Measures

Outcome Measures

• Percentage of surveyed customer respondents expressing overall satisfaction with services received.
• Percentage of surveyed customer respondents identifying ways to improve service delivery.
• Percentage of requests for copy orders of reports filled within 2 weeks (10 business days) of receipt.

Efficiency Measures

• Average number of business days to complete an order.
• Average number of pages per order.

Output Measures

• Number of customers surveyed.
• Number of customers served.
• Number of requests for copy orders filled within 2 weeks.

Explanatory Measures

• Number of requests for copy orders received.
• Total number of pages for copy orders.

In accordance with the the Governor's executive order RP 49, the Texas Ethics Commission has developed the following Employee Awareness Plan.

Location

The Texas Ethics Commission is an efficiency plan tenant agency located at:

Sam Houston Bldg, 10th Floor 210 East 14th St., 10th Floor Austin, TX 78701

This facility is managed by the Texas Building and Procurement Commission. The Texas Ethics Commission cannot track the amount of energy or water consumption the 10th floor alone consumes. According to Texas Building and Procurement Commission, it has no way of breaking down the consumption by agency or floor. The Sam Houston Building runs off of the central meter, which includes various other buildings located within the Capitol Complex.

With this in mind the Texas Ethics Commission can only report on the agency's efforts to help the State of Texas save on the rising cost of energy and water expenditures.

Scope

To provide the Texas Ethics Commission employees with a guideline in which to better implement energy and water conservation rules for the 10th Floor of the Sam Houston Building.

Key Personnel

The Texas Ethics Commission has designated Cristina Hernandez as its Energy Resource Efficiency Plan Coordinator. Ms. Hernandez' role is to prepare and maintain the Employee Awareness Plan and report it to the Texas Building and Procurement Commission so that Texas Building and Procurement Commission can prepare the final Resource Efficiency Plan for the Sam Houston Building. Ms. Hernandez is located in room 1040D of the Sam Houston Building and can be reached at 512-463-5800 or via e-mail at .

Key Focus Areas of the Employee Awareness Plan

The Texas Ethics Commission will focus on these primary areas:

• Educate the employees on the need to conserve water and energy.
• Focus on reporting any and all water leaks and plumbing problems throughout the 10th floor of the Sam Houston Building.
• Focus on reporting any and all malfunctioning lighting and electrical outlets.
• Focus on procuring energy safe compliant office equipment.
• Monitor work areas for overload of electrical outlets.

Metric Outlay of Occupied Space

Major energy using systems and condition in each building: The Texas Ethics Commission is located on the 10th floor of the Sam Houston building. The general outlay of the space we occupy contains:

• Approximately 13,431 sq ft.
• No specified utility budget has been created since we are an efficiency plan user agency.
• The heat & cooling boilers are monitored and supported by the Texas Building and Procurement Commission, as are all the ventilations, correcting of all temperatures and humidity problems.
• Note: The Texas Ethics Commission has reduced the number of copiers in the office by two and has replaced all the previous copiers in the office with smaller copiers that use less energy and are still energy efficient.

The Texas Building and Procurement commission appears to have a well-established program for the Sam Houston Building that allows for installation of sensors and controls throughout the building. The duties of the efficiency plan coordinator will be discussed further throughout this document, as will be the responsibilities of the employees.

All water, electricity and gas that apply to the Sam Houston Building is monitored, controlled and paid by the Texas Building and Procurement Commission. The Texas Ethics Commission does not pay a salary to any employees whose job title or duties relate to Energy Management.

Energy Personnel

For the purpose of this newly adopted rule the Texas Ethics Commission has named Cristina Hernandez as the efficiency plan coordinator. Ms. Hernandez' primary job duties are that of purchaser and are not related to energy management. Energy management will make up 1% of the efficiency plan coordinator's everyday job duties.

Efficiency Plan Coordinator Duties

In order to effectively enforce the employee efficiency plan the coordinator must:

• Monitor all misuse of water and electricity.
• Report to the Texas Building and Procurement Commission any and all electrical or water problems such as, water leaks, power outlets not operating appropriately, all light and motion detector failures.
• Strive to purchase all new equipment that is energy efficient.
• Keep maintenance on all equipment current to avoid unnecessary electrical over usage and outages.

Employee Responsibilities

The Texas Ethics Commission employees are a key factor in the success of this efficiency plan. The employee's roles and duties are as follows:

• Report any and all water leaks to the efficiency plan coordinator.
• Report any light fixture outages to the efficiency plan coordinator.
• Report any sudden changes in temperature and air pressure to the efficiency plan coordinator.
• Be aware of your surrounding work area and do not overload the electrical cords. If in doubt always ask the efficiency plan coordinator.
• Be sure to turn off all lights, monitors, computers, radios, calculators, etc. within your office if you will be out for more than an hour or at the end of each business day.
• Do not attempt to bring in personal heaters, microwaves, mini-fridges, fans, etc., without the consent of the efficiency plan coordinator.

Current Challenges

The primary challenge of enforcing the efficiency plan is the lack of proper information needed in order to create an exceptional energy management plan. The Texas Ethics Commission faces the need to conserve water and energy without knowing how much water and energy is consumed by its employees. This is key information needed in order to monitor the progress of the employees and the employee efficiency plan.

The water and energy consumption can only be provided by the Texas Building and Procurement Commission who, at this time, state they have no means of determining the individual use for each occupying agency within all its buildings.

Goals

The goal of the Texas Ethics Commission is to help the Texas Building and Procurement Commission and the State of Texas conserve water and energy within the Sam Houston building thus reducing the amount of money paid out and saving the state money.

The Texas Ethics Commission also would like to begin receiving a break down of the energy and water use and the amount paid on behalf of the agency. If this is not possible then a general report listing the consumption for the Sam Houston Building can be used to show the employees that all their efforts are making a difference and to continue to procure and rent energy conservative office equipment when possible.

TEC will also achieve a successful rate of complete awareness of the Texas Ethics Commission's energy and water conservation efforts.