Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0730 Page: 2 of 4
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The Honorable Heather Hollub - Page 2
of interest and expressly "preempts the common law of conflict of interests as applied to local
public officials." TEX. Loc. GOV'T CODE ANN. 171.007(a) (Vernon 2008). See generally id.
171.001-.010 ("Regulation of Conflicts of Interest of Officers of Municipalities, Counties, and
Certain Other Local Governments").3 Accordingly, we limit our analysis to whether the district
attorney's continued occupancy of the county's leased office space under the circumstances
described would violate chapter 171 of the Local Government Code.
Section 171.004 is the chapter's primary provision regulating a local public official's
pecuniary interests. Id. 171.004. Under that section, a local public official may be required to
disclose a substantial interest in a business entity or real property prior to a vote or decision
involving the business entity or real property and to abstain from further participation in the matter.
Id. 171.004(a)(2). While section 171.004's application depends on several factors, most pertinent
to your question is that "section 171.004 applies only to a local official who may participate in a vote
or decision of the governmental entity" involving the business entity or real property in which the
official has an interest. Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-0510 (2007) at 2.
Statutory authority to lease office space "for the housing of county or district offices" is
expressly vested in the county commissioners court. TEX. Loc. Gov'T CODE ANN. 292.001(a)
(Vernon 2005); see also TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. 41.107(a) (Vernon 2004) (authorizing the
commissioners court to furnish a prosecuting attorney with "office space"). Further, you represent
that neither you nor your predecessor participated in the negotiations for the contract, voted on the
contract, or participated in any decision concerning the contract. Requestor's Brief at 6 n.6. Thus,
2(...continued)
expression of public policy and determine that a contract violating the rules is unenforceable). We do not attempt to
catalogue the myriad public policy concerns that, depending on the particular facts, might be relevant to a county's lease
of office space.
Also, "conflict of interest" is a similarly broad concept encompassing a variety of circumstances and conduct.
See, e.g., TEX. Loc. GOV'T CODE ANN. 176.001-.012 (Vernon 2008) (requiring disclosure statements by members
of governing body of a local government entity and certain employees who contract with the entity); TEX. Gov'T CODE
ANN. 572.001-.061 (Vernon 2004 & Supp. 2008) (financial statements, standards of conduct, and conflict of interest
provisions); id. 573.001-.084 (Vernon 2004) (nepotism provisions). For example, under chapter 572 of the
Government Code, a district attorney is expressly included in the definitions of an "elected officer" and a "state officer"
and, as such, may be subject to the chapter's provisions as applicable. TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. 572.002(4)(E), (12)
(Vernon Supp. 2008) (definitions). Compare id. 572.021 (personal financial statement required of state officers),
and id. 572.051 (standards of conduct of state officers and employees) with id. 572.057(a) (Vernon 2004) (prohibiting
a legislator, certain "officer[s] elected in a statewide election," and certain related business entities from leasing "office
space or other real property to the state, a state agency, the legislature or a legislative agency, the Supreme Court of
Texas, the Court of Criminal Appeals, or a state judicial agency"). We confine our analysis to the question asked,
namely, the potential application of chapter 171 of the Local Government Code or related common law in the
circumstances you have described.
3No court has addressed whether chapter 171's definition ofa "local public official" includes a district attorney.
See TEX. LOC. GOV'T CODE ANN. 171.001(1) (Vernon 2008) (defining a "local public official" as an elected or
appointed officer of"any district" or "who exercises responsibilities beyond those that are advisory in nature"). We
assume for purposes of this opinion that a district attorney is a local public official subject to chapter 171.(GA-0730)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-0730, text, July 22, 2009; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth275626/m1/2/: accessed May 14, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.