Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1992 )

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DAN MORALES August 12,1992
ATTORNEY
GENERhL
Mr. John Pouland Opinion No. DM-151
Executive Director
General Services Commission Re: Whether pursuant to section 2.061(d) of
P. 0. Box 13047 the General Services Act, article 601b,
Austin, Texas 78711-3047 V.T.C.S., a person who is a member of a firm
which employs persons who are required to
register as lobbyists under chapter 305 of the
Government Code may serve as a commis-
sioner of the General Services Commission,
and related questions (RQ-343)
Dear Mr. Pouland:
You have requested an opinion from this office concerning the application of
the conflict-of-interest section of the General Services Act, V.T.C.S. article 6Olb,
section 2.061(d). This section reads:
A person may not be a member of the commission or act as the
general counsel to the commission if the person is required to register
as a lobbyist under Chapter 305, Government Code, because of the
person’s activities for compensation on behalf of a profession related
to the operation of the commission or a business entity that contracts
with the state.
Your primary concern is whether, under this section, a person who is a member of a
firm may serve as a commissioner of the General Services Commission when the
firm employs persons who are required to register as lobbyists under chapter 305 of
the Government Code. You also ask us to comment on your interpretation of the
scope of section 2.061(d).
We conclude that a person who is a member of a firm may serve as a
commissioner of the General Services Commission even if that firm has other
employees who are required to register as lobbyists under chapter 305. The
ordinary meaning of the language used in section 2.061(d) dictates this conclusion.
As a general rule, the words in a statute should be given their ordinary meaning
p. 790
Mr. John Pouland - Page 2 (m-151)
unless the statute is ambiguous, the words are used as terms of art, or the statute
gives definitions for the words. Eg., Gov’t Code 0 312.002(a) (providing that the
words of the civil statutes shag be given their ordinary meaning unless they are used
as terms of art); Gril v. ServiceMotors. Inc. 660 S.W.2d 814,815 (Tex. 1983) (stating
that if the words of a statute are clear and unambiguous, the statute should be given
its common, everyday meaning). The language in section 2.061(d) refers to “the
person” required to register only, not to anyone else. Thus, the language indicates
that only the person who is actually required to register as a lobbyist is ineligible to
beacomrmssl ’ ‘oner of the General Services Commission.
The language used in section 2.061(d) also indicates that its scope is
somewhat broader than your interpretation. You suggest that section 2.061(d)
applies only to individuals who lobby on behalf of 1) entities that contract with tbe
state through the General Services Commission or 2) professions related to the
operation of the General Services Commission. We agree that section 2.061(d)
applies to these two categories of individuals. However, in our opinion the section
also applies to lobbyists who work on behalf of any business that contracts with the
state, regardless of whether the business contracts through the General Services
Commission. The section explicitly refers to lobbyists who work *on behalf of. . . a
business entity that contracts with the state.” This language does not restrict the
application of the section to lobbyists who work on behalf of entities that contract
with the state through the General Services Commission. In contrast, the language
of other conflict-of-interest provisions encompasses only one or two of these three
categories. For example, section 5.05(c) of the Alcoholic Beverage Code states that
a member of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission cannot also be a person who is
required to register as a lobbyist because of his or her work “on behalf of a
profession related to the operation of the commission.“t This section demonstrates
that if the legislature had wanted to limit the application of section 2.061(d) to
lobbyists whose work is somehow related to the General Services Commission, it
would have done so explicitly. In light of the ordinary meaning of the words in the
section, we camrot conclude that the legislature intended section 2.061(d) to apply
only to lobbyists who work on behalf of entities that contract with the state through
the General Servicies Commission or professions related to the operation of the
General Servicies Commission.
p. 791
Mr. John Pouland - Page 3 ce-151)
SUMMARY
Sectfon 2.061(d) of the General Services Act, article 6Olb,
V.T.C.S., does not prohibit a person from serving as a
commissioner of the General Services Commission when that
person is a member of a Srrn with other employees who are
required to register as lobbyists under chapter 305 of the
Government Code. Only the person actually required to
register as a lobbyist is ineligible to serve as a commissioner of
the General Services Commission under section 2.061(d).
However, the application of the section is not restricted to
lobbyists required to register because of their activities on behalf
of professions related to the operation of the General Services
Commission or on behalf of business entities that contract with
the state through the General Services Commission. A lobbyist
also cannot serve as a commissioner of the General Setices
Commission if he or she works on behalf of a business that
contracts with the state in erry manner, regardless of whether the
business contracts through the General Services Commissior~
DAN MORALES
Attorney General of Texas
WILL PRYOR
First Assistant Attorney General
MARY KELLER
Deputy Assistant Attorney General
RENEAHlcK!3
Special Assistant Attorney General
MADELEJNE B. JOHNSON
Chair, Opinion Committee
Prepared by Margaret A Roll
Assistant Attorney General
p. 792