EAO 028

** Overruled, Modified, Clarified or Superseded ** Members of the State Committee of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Dieticians, the Advisory Board of Athletic Trainers, and the Texas Medical Disclosure Panel are “state officers” who must file financial disclosure reports pursuant to article 6252-9b, V.T.C.S. Financial disclosure statements that are filed in 1992 must include information about the previous year’s financial activity, but no penalty attaches to any activity that was not prohibited under the law in effect at the time that activity occurred. Any service as a state officer during the period between and including January 1 to April 30 of the year in which the statement has to be filed triggers the filing requirement. The Ethics Commission is authorized to adopt a financial disclosure form, which must include information required by the legislature. It is immaterial that the information required is set out in the Penal Code rather than article 6252-9b, V.T.C.S. Where the statute specifically requests information only about the “state officer,” he is not required to provide similar information concerning his spouse or dependent children. A person filing a financial disclosure statement must include a description of his employment position on the form. Article 6252-9b, V.T.C.S., does not contain civil or criminal penalties for violations of the code of conduct set out in section 8 of the act. Failure to timely file a financial disclosure statement is punishable by a fine of the commission. Failure to file a statement at all is a Class B misdemeanor.