DAN MORALES

ATTORNEY GENERhL 

## QBffice

of tip ~ttornep Qhnerat &ate of QCexae August 12,1992

Mr.John Pouland Executive Director General Services Commission P.0. 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.,aperson who is a member ofa firm which employs persons who are required to register as lobbyists under chapter 305 ofthe 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 6Olb, 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 ifthe person isrequired to register
as a lobbyist under Chapter 305, Government Code, because of the person’s activities for compensation on behalf ofa profession related to the operation ofthe commission or a business entity that contracts with the state.

Your primary concern iswhether, under this section, aperson whoisa member ofa firm may serve as a commissioner of the General Services Commission when the firm employs persons who are required to register aslobbyists under chapter 305of the Government Code. You also ask us to comment on your interpretation of the scope ofsection 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 ofthe 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

p. 790Mr.John Pouland - Page 2 (m-151)

unless the statute is ambiguous, the words are used as terms of art, or the statute gives definitions for the words. Eg., Gov’t Code 0312.002(a) (providing that the words ofthe civilstatutes shag be giventheir ordinary meaning unless they are used
asterms ofart); Gril v.ServiceMotors. Inc. 660 S.W.2d814,815 (Tex. 1983)(stating that ifthe words ofa 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 whois actually required to register as a lobbyist isineligible to

’ beacomrmssl ‘onerofthe General ServicesCommission.

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 tbe 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 ofindividuals. However, in our opinion the section also applies to lobbyists whowork on behalf ofany business that contracts with the state, regardless of whether the business contracts through the General Services Commission. The section explicitlyrefers to lobbyistswhowork *onbehalf of.

. .a business entity that contracts with the state.” This language does not restrict the application of the section to lobbyists whowork on behalf of entities that contract with the state through the General ServicesCommission. In contrast, the language of other conflict-of-interest provisions encompasses only one or two ofthese three categories. For example, section 5.05(c)ofthe 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 ofthe commission.“t 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 ofthe ordinary meaning ofthe words in the section, we camrot conclude that the legislature intended section 2.061(d) to apply only to lobbyists whowork on behalf ofentities that contract with the state through the General Servicies Commission or professions related to the operation of the General Servicies Commission.

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### SUMMARY

Sectfon 2.061(d) of the General Services Act, article 6Olb, 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 Srrn 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 isineligible 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 oftheir activities onbehalf ofprofessions related to the operation ofthe General Services Commission or on behalf ofbusiness entities that contract with the state through the General Services Commission. A lobbyist also cannot serve as a commissioner of the General Setices Commission if he or she works on behalf of a business that contracts withthe state inerrymanner, regardless ofwhether the business contracts through the General ServicesCommissior~

DAN MORALES Attorney General ofTexas
WILLPRYOR First Assistant Attorney General
MARY KELLER Deputy Assistant Attorney General
RENEAHlcK!3 SpecialAssistant Attorney General
MADELEJNE B.JOHNSON Chair, Opinion Committee Prepared byMargaret A Roll Assistant Attorney General

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