Does having lobbyists at your firm disqualify you from serving on a Texas state commission with a lobbyist conflict-of-interest rule?

Plain-English summary

The executive director of the General Services Commission asked the Attorney General to interpret the commission's conflict-of-interest rule. The rule, section 2.061(d) of the General Services Act, says a person cannot serve as a commissioner (or as the commission's general counsel) if that person is required to register as a lobbyist under the state lobbying law because of paid lobbying on behalf of a profession related to the commission's operation or a business that contracts with the state. The main practical worry was this: suppose someone is a member of a firm, and other people at that firm are registered lobbyists. Does the firm member catch the disqualification too?

The Attorney General said no. The reasoning was straightforward textual reading. The statute disqualifies "the person" who is required to register, and it does not reach anyone else at the person's firm. Words in a statute get their ordinary meaning unless the statute is ambiguous, uses terms of art, or supplies its own definitions, and here the ordinary meaning is clear: only the individual who is personally required to register as a lobbyist is ineligible to serve. A colleague's lobbying does not transfer the bar to a firm member who is not himself required to register.

The opinion then went a step further than the question and addressed how far the rule reaches when it does apply. The requester had assumed the rule only covered lobbyists working for businesses that contract with the state through the General Services Commission, or for professions tied to the commission's operation. The Attorney General agreed the rule covers those two categories but said it is actually broader. The statute also bars a registered lobbyist who works on behalf of any business that contracts with the state, whether or not that business contracts through the commission. The text refers to a lobbyist acting "on behalf of . . . a business entity that contracts with the state," with no limitation tying it to the commission. To make the point, the opinion compared a narrower provision in the Alcoholic Beverage Code, which expressly limits its lobbyist bar to work "on behalf of a profession related to the operation of the commission." That contrast showed the Legislature knew how to write a narrow limitation when it wanted one, and it did not write one into section 2.061(d).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1992. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here. The General Services Commission and its enabling statute (former V.T.C.S. article 601b) were later reorganized and recodified, and the lobbyist-registration provisions in Government Code chapter 305 have been amended since 1992, so confirm current law before relying on anything described here.

Background and statutory framework

Section 2.061(d) of the General Services Act, V.T.C.S. article 601b, provides:

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.

The Attorney General concluded 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. As a general rule, the words in a statute should be given their ordinary meaning unless the statute is ambiguous, the words are used as terms of art, or the statute defines them. See, e.g., Gov't Code § 312.002(a); Cail v. Service Motors, Inc., 660 S.W.2d 814, 815 (Tex. 1983) (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, so only the person actually required to register as a lobbyist is ineligible to be a commissioner.

On scope, the opinion concluded the section reaches somewhat more broadly than the requester suggested. The requester read section 2.061(d) to apply only to individuals who lobby on behalf of (1) entities that contract with the state through the General Services Commission or (2) professions related to the operation of the commission. The Attorney General agreed the section applies to those two categories but concluded it also applies to lobbyists who work on behalf of any business that contracts with the state, regardless of whether the business contracts through the commission. The section explicitly refers to lobbyists who work "on behalf of . . . a business entity that contracts with the state," which does not restrict its application to entities contracting through the commission. By contrast, other conflict-of-interest provisions are narrower; for example, section 5.05(c) of the Alcoholic Beverage Code provides that a member of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission cannot also be a person required to register as a lobbyist because of work "on behalf of a profession related to the operation of the commission." That demonstrates that, had the legislature wanted to limit section 2.061(d) to lobbyists whose work is somehow related to the General Services Commission, it would have done so explicitly.

Common questions

If my firm has registered lobbyists, can I still serve on the General Services Commission?
Yes, according to this opinion, as long as you are not personally required to register as a lobbyist. The disqualification in section 2.061(d) reaches only "the person" required to register, not that person's firm colleagues.

Who exactly is disqualified?
Only the individual who is personally required to register as a lobbyist under chapter 305 because of the kinds of paid lobbying the statute describes. The opinion read the bar to attach to that person, not to a firm.

Does the rule only matter for lobbyists working with the General Services Commission?
No. The opinion concluded the rule is broader: it disqualifies a registered lobbyist who works on behalf of any business that contracts with the state, not just businesses that contract through the General Services Commission.

Citations

• V.T.C.S. art. 601b, § 2.061(d) (General Services Act)
• Government Code ch. 305; § 312.002(a)
• Alcoholic Beverage Code § 5.05(c)
• Cail v. Service Motors, Inc., 660 S.W.2d 814 (Tex. 1983)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/dan-morales/dm-0151
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1992/dm0151.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain. The linked PDF is authoritative.

Office of the Attorney General
State of Texas

DAN MORALES
ATTORNEY GENERAL

August 12, 1992

Mr. John Pouland
Executive Director
General Services Commission
P. O. Box 13047
Austin, Texas 78711-3047

Opinion No. DM-151

Re: Whether pursuant to section 2.061(d) of the General Services Act, article 601b, 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 commissioner 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 601b, 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 unless the statute is ambiguous, the words are used as terms of art, or the statute gives definitions for the words. E.g., Gov't Code § 312.002(a) (providing that the words of the civil statutes shall be given their ordinary meaning unless they are used as terms of art); Cail v. Service Motors, 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 be a commissioner 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 the 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." 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 cannot 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 Services Commission or professions related to the operation of the General Services Commission.

                               SUMMARY

          Section 2.061(d) of the General Services Act, article 601b, 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 firm 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 Services Commission if he or she works on behalf of a business that contracts with the state in any manner, regardless of whether the business contracts through the General Services Commission.

                                            DAN MORALES
                                            Attorney General of Texas

WILL PRYOR
First Assistant Attorney General

MARY KELLER
Deputy Assistant Attorney General

RENEA HICKS
Special Assistant Attorney General

MADELEINE B. JOHNSON
Chair, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Margaret A. Roll
Assistant Attorney General