CIQ - Conflict of Interest

House Bill (H.B.) 1491, passed during the 2005 State of Texas Legislative session, became effective on January 1, 2006. The bill enacts Local Government Code Chapter 176.  It requires that Mayors, Councilmembers, City Managers or Administrators, and certain other City Officials (all referred to as City Officers on this page) must file a conflicts of disclosure statement with a City's Records Administrator, traditionally the City Secretary, within seven days of becoming aware of either of the following situations:

1. A city officer or the officer's family member has an employment or business relationship that results in taxable income with a person who has contracted with the city or with whom the city is considering doing business.
2. A city officer or the officer's family member receives and accepts one or more gifts with an aggregate value of $250 in the preceding 12 months from a person who conducts business or is being considered for business with the officer's city.

The bill also requires a vendor that wishes to conduct business or be considered for business with a city to file a conflict of interest questionnaire (CIQ).  The bill provides that failure to file the statement or questionnaire is punishable as a class C misdemeanor.