us-tx/regs
34 Tex. Admin. Code § 1.400 — Gift Acceptance Policy and Procedures
(a)
Definitions. The following words and terms when used in this section shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Agency--The Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts.
(2) Contested case--A proceeding in which the legal rights, duties, or privileges of a party are to be determined by the agency after an opportunity for an adjudicative hearing. For purposes of this section, the term does not include matters that are handled administratively without a hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH).
(3) Employee--A full-time or part-time employee of the agency.
(4) Foreign adversary--A country or foreign non-government persons listed under 15 C.F.R. §791.4.
(5) Foreign business entity--A partnership, limited partnership, corporation, association, joint venture, or other business organization organized under the laws of a foreign jurisdiction outside the United States.
(6) Gift--A donation of money, property or services.
(7) Inception of the case--The date an application, complaint, petition, statement of intent, request for agency action, ruling, relief, or other document requiring an adjudicative hearing is filed.
(8) Indebted to the state--Owing a past due obligation of money or taxes to the State of Texas, as reported to the agency under Government Code, §403.055(f).
(9) Money--Cash or negotiable instruments.
(10) Party--A person by or against whom a contested case or lawsuit is brought and who is named on the record. For the purpose of this section, a party is the person named or admitted as a party to a contested case pending before the agency, or a person named or admitted as a party in litigation against the agency.
(11) Person--An individual, partnership, limited partnership, joint venture, trust, cooperative, corporation, association, or any other legal entity, however organized.
(12) Property--Real property or tangible or intangible personal property.
(13) Services--Administrative, technical, consulting or any other services or performance of duties assigned in furtherance of volunteer public service related to the duties of the agency.
(b)
Authority to Accept Gifts. The agency may solicit and accept a gift on behalf of the state for any public purpose related to the duties of the agency. The agency may also solicit and accept donations of services on behalf of the state for any public purpose related to the duties of the agency.
(c)
Authority to Refuse Gifts. The agency may refuse a gift for any reason and at any time. To guide the acceptance of gifts on behalf of the state, the agency establishes the following rule. The agency will not accept a gift from:
(1) a party in a contested case against the agency during the period from the inception of the contested case until the 30th day after the date of the final order in the contested case;
(2) a party in litigation against the agency until the 30th day after the date of the final order in the litigation;
(3) subject to subsection (i) of this section, a person who is indebted to the state or who owes delinquent taxes to the state, as reported to the agency under Government Code, §403.055(f);
(4) a person who is under investigation by the agency's Criminal Investigation Division;
(5) a person who is in default on a guaranteed student loan, as reflected in the records which are available to and utilized by the agency in the normal course of business;
(6) a person who is indebted to the state for past due child support, as reflected in the records which are available to and utilized by the agency in the normal course of business;
(7) a foreign business entity that is not licensed to do business in Texas; or
(8) a foreign adversary or a person associated with a foreign adversary.
(d)
Notice of intent to make a gift. A person intending to make a gift to the agency is considered a prospective donor and shall provide to the agency upon request as much of the following information as is applicable:
(1) the complete legal name, address, telephone number, and social security number (if applicable) of the prospective donor;
(2) if the donor is a business organization, the prospective donor's company name, address, phone number and taxpayer identification number;
(3) a description of the intended gift;
(4) the estimated date on which the gift would be available;
(5) an estimate of the value of the gift as of the date of delivery;
(6) a statement describing any proposed use of the gift;
(7) a statement regarding the prospective donor's status with respect to each paragraph in subsection (c) of this section;
(8) a statement disclosing whether any agency employees serve as officers or directors of the prospective donor organization; and
(9) the agency may request that the donor supply additional information regarding the donor, the intended gift, its estimated value, its usefulness to the agency, the donor's status with respect to the gift acceptance rule, or any other information that the agency deems relevant to the intended gift.
(e)
Review Procedures. The agency shall review the proposed gift as soon as practicable after receiving the intended gift or notice of an intended gift. The agency shall cross check the prospective donor information against the agency's records and other information it deems necessary to determine whether the proposed gift is consistent with applicable law, agency policies, and the agency's gift acceptance rule and whether the gift may be used for a public purpose related to the duties of the comptroller.
(f)
Gift Acceptance. The agency will notify the donor if acceptance of the gift is approved. If requested, the agency may provide a receipt to the donor. The receipt shall specify the name of the donor organization, the date received, the donor's name, the amount of money or description of property donated, and include a statement that the agency has not provided any goods or services in consideration for the gift. Gifts of money will be deposited in the treasury unless statute or the constitution requires deposit to another fund.
(g)
Gift Refusal. The agency may notify a prospective donor if the gift is refused. If the agency refuses a gift after receipt, the agency will return the gift subject to applicable law and subsection (i) of this section as soon as practicable.
(h)
Use of Suspense Account. The agency may deposit a gift of money into a suspense account pending completion of the review under subsection (e) of this section. If accepted, the gift will be transferred to the treasury unless statute requires deposit to another fund. If refused, the gift will be returned subject to subsection (g) of this section.
(i)
Use of Gift as Offset against Certain Indebtedness. Prior to the return of a gift rejected under subsection (g) of this section, the agency, to the greatest extent possible, will comply with the warrant hold and deduction procedures required by Government Code, §403.055 and §403.0551.
(j)
Records of Gifts. For gifts valued at $500 or more, the agency will record the name of the donor, a description of the gift, and the purpose of the gift.
(k)
Use of Gifts. The agency will ensure that all gifts to the agency are used for public purposes related to the duties of the agency. No gifts to the state shall be used for the monetary enrichment of any agency employee. Unless the agency agrees otherwise for a public purpose authorized by law, a donor may not direct the use or investment of the gift.
(l)
Gifts of Service.
(1) The agency shall provide appropriate training as needed and advise on any applicable rules to persons who donate services.
(2) A person who donates services to the agency, subject to applicable law and agency policies, may use the agency's property during the periods of donated service to facilitate the provision of volunteer public service and further the public purposes of the agency. Agency employees may also work on agency projects with the donor during the periods of volunteer public service to further the agency's public purposes.
(3) If an agency employee is also an officer, director or volunteer for the donor organization, the employee's service for the donor organization may be limited to service outside of the employee's state work hours. An agency employee who is also an officer, director or volunteer for an organization that was created by the agency for a limited public purpose related to the duties of the agency, may perform services for the organization during the employee's state work hours.
(m)
Rule Scope. This section does not apply to gifts to individual employees and does not apply to funds received under Government Code, §403.0121. Gift acceptance by individual employees and the restrictions on such acceptance, are governed by Government Code, Chapter 572 (Standards of Conduct); Penal Code, Chapter 36 (Prohibited Gifts); Penal Code, Chapter 39 (Misuse of State Resources); and the agency's ethics policies.
Source Note: The provisions of this §1.400 adopted to be
effective December 30, 2025, 50 TexReg 8614.
Source: official text