(a) Definitions. The following words and terms when used in this section shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
  (1) Commission--The Railroad Commission of Texas.
  (2) Commissioner--A member of the commission.
  (3) Contested case--A proceeding, including a ratemaking or licensing proceeding, in which the legal rights, duties or privileges of a party are to be determined by the commission after an opportunity for adjudicative hearing. For purposes of this section, the term does not include matters that are handled administratively without a hearing.
  (4) Decision in a contested case--That final order of the commission that disposes of all issues in a contested case.
  (5) Director--The Director of Finance and Administration.
  (6) Division director--The director of any commission division.
  (7) Employee--A full-time or part-time employee of the commission.
  (8) Gift--A donation of money, property, or other assistance conveyed to the commission and over which the commission has complete title, control, or discretion. The term does not include items that are temporarily in the commission's possession for testing or research purposes; a non-employee's participation as a speaker or presenter in a commission-sponsored conference or seminar; or payments made pursuant to Texas Natural Resources Code, §89.084.
  (9) Inception of the case--The date an application, complaint, petition, statement of intent, or other request for commission action, ruling, or relief is determined to require a hearing or the date a matter is referred to the Office of General Counsel, whichever is earlier.
  (10) Money--Cash or negotiable instruments.
  (11) Other assistance--The gift of personnel or expertise in a particular professional or technical area.
  (12) Party--A person or a state agency named or admitted as a party to a contested case pending before the commission.
  (13) Person--An individual; a partnership, limited partnership, joint venture, cooperative, corporation, association, or any other business organization or entity; a trust; an estate; a public or private institution of higher education; or a state agency, county, municipality, council of government, school district or other governmental subdivision.
  (14) Property--Real property or personal property, both tangible and intangible.
(b) Terms and conditions. The commission may apply for, request, solicit, contract for, receive, accept, and administer gifts, grants, and donations of money or other assistance from any source to carry out any commission purpose or power authorized by law except as follows:
  (1) Neither the commission nor its delegate shall accept a gift from a party in a contested case during the period from the inception of the contested case until the 30th day after the date the decision in a contested case becomes final under Texas Government Code, §2001.144.
  (2) Neither the commission nor its delegate shall solicit or accept any gift:
    (A) that might reasonably tend to influence a commissioner or commission employee in the discharge of official duties, or that the commissioner or commission employee knows or should know is being offered with the intent to influence the commissioner's or commission employee's official conduct;
    (B) that could reasonably be expected to impair a commissioner's or commission employee's independence of judgment in the performance of the commissioner's or commission employee's official duties; or
    (C) for having exercised the commission's or a commission employee's official powers or performed the commission's or commission employee's official duties in favor of another.
(c) Notice of intent to make a gift. A person wishing to make a gift to the commission shall file with the Director a completed RRC Gift Form, Notice of Gift to Railroad Commission of Texas , or a letter including the following information:
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  (1) the complete legal name, address, and telephone number of the donor;
  (2) a description of the intended gift;
  (3) the date on which the gift would be made;
  (4) a statement describing the manner in which the intended gift would assist the commission in carrying out its duties;
  (5) an estimate of the value of the gift; and
  (6) a statement regarding the donor's party status in any contested case pending before the commission:
    (A) If the donor is a party in a contested case pending before the commission, the notice shall include the docket number, style, and filing date of every contested case in which the donor is a party.
    (B) If the donor is not a party in any contested case pending before the commission, the notice shall include either the docket number, style, and date the order was signed in the most recent contested case in which the donor was a party or a statement that the donor has never been a party to a contested case before the commission.
  (7) The Director shall forward the form or letter to the appropriate division director for review.
(d) Division director review. The division director to whom the Director has forwarded a copy of the form or letter shall review the form or letter within 10 business days. The division director shall indicate on the form whether:
  (1) the intended gift would assist the commission in carrying out its duties and, if so, how;
  (2) the intended gift would provide a broad or general benefit to the commission in carrying out its purposes and powers that would exceed any particular benefit that the donor might realize as a result of making the gift;
  (3) the division director agrees with the estimated value of the gift and, if not, the division director's estimate of the value of the gift and the reason for the difference of opinion; and
  (4) the commission should accept the intended gift and, if not, the reasons the division director recommends against accepting the intended gift.
  (5) The division director shall forward the form or letter to the Office of General Counsel for review.
(e) Office of General Counsel review. Upon receipt of a form or letter from a division director, the Office of General Counsel shall review the form or letter within 10 business days regarding the intended donor's status as a party in any proceeding pending before the commission.
  (1) The review shall indicate whether the date on which the donor intends to make the gift to the commission meets the requirements of subsection (b)(1) of this section and if not, shall state a date or dates which would meet the requirements of subsection (b)(1) of this section.
  (2) The Office of General Counsel shall forward the reviewed form or letter to the Director for final review.
(f) Director review. Upon receipt of a form or letter reviewed by a division director and the Office of General Counsel, the Director shall review the form or letter within 10 business days to ensure that all information required by this section is included.
  (1) The Director may request that the person filing the notice of intent to make a gift supply additional information regarding the donor, the intended gift, its estimated value, its usefulness to the commission, the donor's party status, or any other information that the Director deems relevant to the intended gift.
  (2) The commission delegates to the Director the authority to accept or reject intended gifts using the standards and procedures set forth in this section.
  (3) If the Director finds all information on the form or letter to be complete and accurate the Director shall either accept or reject the intended gift. The Director shall accept a gift by signing and dating the RRC Gift Form and forwarding copies of the form to the donor, the appropriate division director, the Finance and Administration Division, and the Office of General Counsel. The Director shall notify in writing the donor, the appropriate division director, the Finance and Accounting Division, the Office of General Counsel, and the commissioners of a decision to reject an intended gift, and shall include a brief statement of the reason(s) for the rejection.
  (4) If the Director accepts a gift valued at $500 or more, the Director shall:
    (A) give notice that the commission will acknowledge the acceptance at an open meeting; and
    (B) prepare a document by which the commission may acknowledge acceptance of a gift.
  (5) In an open meeting, the commission shall consider the acknowledgment of an accepted gift and shall commemorate the acknowledgment by signing the prepared document.
(g) Upon a Director decision accepting a gift, the Director shall ensure that the commission staff takes all appropriate steps to receive the gift and to account for it properly in the records of the commission.

Source Note: The provisions of this §20.201 adopted to be effective June 14, 1999, 24 TexReg 4361; amended to be effective July 31, 2000, 25 TexReg 7137