This section disqualifies certain people from board, parole commissioner, and related jobs if they have specified financial, lobbying, or trade-association conflicts, and it imposes a two-year cooling-off period for some former department or board personnel.
Sec. 508.033. DISQUALIFICATIONS. (a) A person is not eligible for appointment as a member of the board or for employment as a parole commissioner if the person or the person's spouse: (1) is employed by or participates in the management of a business entity or other organization receiving funds from the department or the board; (2) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more than a 10-percent interest in a business entity or other organization: (A) regulated by the department; or (B) receiving funds from the department or the board; or (3) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible goods, services, or funds from the department or the board, other than compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for board membership, attendance, or expenses. (b) In determining eligibility under Subsection (a)(3), the compensation or reimbursement that a board member's spouse or parole commissioner's spouse receives as an employee of the board or the department may not be considered. This subsection does not affect any restriction on employment or board membership imposed by any other law. (c) A person may not serve as a parole commissioner, may not be a member of the board, and may not be an employee of the division or the board employed in a "bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity," as that phrase is used for purposes of establishing an exemption to the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.) and its subsequent amendments, if: (1) the person is an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of criminal justice; or (2) the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or paid consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of criminal justice. (d) A person who is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305 because of the person's activities for compensation in or on behalf of a profession related to the operation of the board may not: (1) serve as a member of the board or as a parole commissioner; or (2) act as the general counsel to the board or division. (e) In this section, "Texas trade association" means a cooperative and voluntarily joined association of business or professional competitors in this state designed to assist its members and its industry or profession in: (1) dealing with mutual business or professional problems; and (2) promoting their common interests. (f) A person who is a current or former employee of the department may not serve as a parole commissioner before the second anniversary of the date the person's employment with the department ceases, and a member of the board may not serve as a parole commissioner before the second anniversary of the date the person's membership on the board ceases. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 12.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 10.04, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 554, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by: Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1308 (S.B. 909), Sec. 33, eff. June 15, 2007.