Complaints

Any individual who lives in Texas may file a sworn complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission alleging a violation of certain laws. The Ethics Commission may only consider violations of the following laws:

• Title 15, Election Code, concerning political contributions and expenditures, and political advertising;
• Chapter 302, Government Code, concerning the election of the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives;
• Chapter 303, Government Code, concerning the governor for a day and speaker’s reunion day ceremonies;
• Chapter 305, Government Code, concerning lobbyist registration, reports, and activities;
• Chapter 572, Government Code, concerning personal financial disclosure of state officers and conduct of state officers and employees;
• Chapter 2004, Government Code, concerning representation before state agencies;
• Chapter 159, Local Government Code, concerning judges of statutory county courts or statutory probate courts who elect to file a personal financial statement with the Commission; and
• Sections 334.025, and 335.055, Local Government Code, concerning false and misleading campaign material supporting or opposing the authorization of a sports or community venue project.

Most Common Sworn Complaint Violations

There are certain types of matters that the Commission has no jurisdiction over and therefore, cannot accept for review. These include but are not limited to:

• Federal law matters. Contact the Federal Election Commission.
• Complaints that signs are too close to polls, electioneering/campaigning around polling locations. Contact the Texas Secretary of State.
• Questions about how to get on the ballot. Look at the Texas Secretary of State Candidates’ Guide.
• Complaints about signs that are in the right-of-way. Contact the Texas Department of Transportation or local code enforcement.
• Complaints about the Certificate of Interested Parties (Form 1295) for businesses doing business with a governmental entity.
• Complaints about the Conflict of Interest Questionnaire (Forms CIQ or CIS) for vendor doing business with local governmental entity.
• Bribery, Honoraria, Perjury, Abuse of Official Capacity, Nepotism and other offenses against public administration. Contact the Public Integrity Section of your local district or county attorney’s office, local law enforcement, or the Texas Rangers Public Integrity Unit at rangers@dps.texas.gov.
• Attorney ethics matters. Contact the State Bar of Texas.
• Judicial ethics (non-campaign related) matters. Contact the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
• Violations of the Open Meetings Act or Public Information Act – contact your local prosecutor. For information about these Acts – contact the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
• Employer retaliation/employment issues – contact the Texas Workforce Commission.
• Questions about Resign to Run/ Dual officeholders – contact your city or county attorney.

Complaints are not taken over the phone or by e-mail. A sworn complaint must be filed on a form prescribed by the Commission. The form comes in three formats:

• Non-editable form with line formatting
• Non-editable form without line formatting
• Editable form with line formatting

The Commission does not take complaints in which either the complainant is anonymous or the identity of the respondent is not known.

Forms should be either: (1) mailed to P.O. Box 12070, Austin, Texas 78711, (2) hand delivered to 201 E. 14th Street, Sam Houston Building, 10th floor, Austin, Texas 78701, or (3) emailed to sworncomplaints@ethics.state.tx.us.

For further information on the sworn complaint process, review this Sworn Complaint Instruction Guide. If you do not find your answer, contact the Commission’s Legal Department at (512) 463-5800. Note that the attorneys may provide you with information, but may not provide you with legal advice.

The sworn complaint process is governed by:

• Chapter 571, Government Code
• Chapter 12, Commission Rules

The filing of a sworn complaint sets in motion a process that may include a preliminary review as well as informal or formal hearings. A sworn complaint may be resolved at several points in the process. The Commission may ultimately resolve a sworn complaint by dismissal or imposition of a civil penalty. A respondent may appeal a final decision of the Commission to a district court for a trial de novo. During most stages of the process the Commissioners and Commission staff are required to keep the complaint confidential.

Sworn Complaint Flow Diagram

Resolution Regarding Use of Complaint Information in Advertising