| (1) The Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, the department, and the committee shall not be bound in any way by any statement or action on the part of any committee member except when a statement or action is in pursuit of specific instructions from the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, department, or committee. (2) The committee and its members may not participate in legislative activity in the name of the Health and Human Services Commission, the department or the committee except with approval through the department's legislative process. Committee members are not prohibited from representing themselves or other entities in the legislative process. (3) A committee member should not accept or solicit any benefit that might reasonably tend to influence the member in the discharge of the member's official duties. (4) A committee member should not disclose confidential information acquired through his or her committee membership. (5) A committee member should not knowingly solicit, accept, or agree to accept any benefit for having exercised the member's official powers or duties in favor of another person. (6) A committee member who has a personal or private interest in a matter pending before the committee shall publicly disclose the fact in a committee meeting and may not vote or otherwise participate in the matter. The phrase "personal or private interest" means the committee member has a direct pecuniary interest in the matter but does not include the committee member's engagement in a profession, trade, or occupation when the member's interest is the same as all others similarly engaged in the profession, trade, or occupation. (o) Reports to the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission. The committee shall file an annual written report with the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission. (1) The report shall list the meeting dates of the committee and any subcommittees, the attendance records of its members, a brief description of actions taken by the committee, a description of how the committee has accomplished the tasks given to the committee by the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, the status of any rules which were recommended by the committee to the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, and anticipated activities of the committee for the next year. (2) The report shall identify the costs related to the committee's existence, including the cost of department staff time spent in support of the committee's activities and the source of funds used to support the committee's activities. (3) The report shall cover the meetings and activities in the immediate preceding 12 months and shall be filed with the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission each September. It shall be signed by the presiding officer and appropriate department staff. (p) Reimbursement for expenses. In accordance with the requirements set forth in the Government Code, Chapter 2110, a committee member may receive reimbursement for the member's expenses incurred for each day the member engages in official committee business if authorized by the General Appropriations Act or budget execution process. (1) No compensatory per diem shall be paid to committee members unless required by law. (2) A committee member who is an employee of a state agency, other than the department, may not receive reimbursement for expenses from the department. (3) A nonmember of the committee who is appointed to serve on a subcommittee may not receive reimbursement for expenses from the department. (4) Each member who is to be reimbursed for expenses shall submit to staff the member's receipts for expenses and any required official forms no later than 14 days after each committee meeting. (5) Requests for reimbursement of expenses shall be made on official state travel vouchers prepared by department staff. |
| Source Note: The provisions of this §229.444 adopted to be effective February 19, 1996, 21 TexReg 966; amended to be effective August 15, 1999, 24 TexReg 6086; amended to be effective August 28, 2003, 28 TexReg 6870; amended to be effective March 7, 2007, 32 TexReg 1076 |
