1. (a) All contracting personnel must:

   1. (1) adhere to ethics requirements adopted in rule, ethics policies, and any code of ethics approved by the executive head of the agency; and
   2. (2) sign and submit all ethics, disclosure, confidentiality, and other forms required in the ordinary course of a procurement and any further administration or management of a contract.
2. (b) Contracting personnel must disclose, in writing, any potential or actual conflict of interest concerning any contract or procurement in which they are, or may become, engaged.

3. (c) To avoid conflicts of interest, contracting personnel must not:

   1. (1) participate in any work on a contract knowing that the contracting personnel, or member of that contracting personnel's immediate family, as described in §573.002 of the Texas Government Code, has an actual or potential financial interest in the contract, including, but not limited to, prospective employment. The term "participate" includes, but is not limited to, decision making, approval, disapproval, recommendation, giving advice, investigation or similar action.
   2. (2) solicit or accept a benefit from a vendor;
   3. (3) be employed by, or agree to work for, a vendor;
   4. (4) disclose confidential information; or
   5. (5) be employed at pay classification B9, or higher, as determined by HHSC, if the spouse of that contracting personnel is an officer, manager, or paid consultant of a Texas trade association or businesses that contracts with HHSC.
4. (d) To avoid conflicts of interest, former contracting personnel must not represent any person or receive compensation for services rendered on behalf of any person regarding a particular matter in which the former contracting personnel participated during the period of employment, either through personal involvement or because the case or proceeding was a matter within the contracting personnel's official responsibility (see Texas Government Code §572.054, Representation by Former Officer or Employee of Regulatory Agency Restricted; Criminal Offense).
5. (e) When a potential violation of this subchapter is discovered by any HHSC employee, that employee must promptly file a written statement concerning the matter with the Chief Ethics Officer for HHSC. If an actual violation is found to have occurred, or a potential conflict of interest has not been disclosed, the contracting personnel involved will be disciplined, including up to possible dismissal or referral to law enforcement.
6. (f) Additionally, employees of the Department of Family and Protective Services are required to abide by the prohibitions in §40.034, Texas Human Resources Code.

Source Note:The provisions of this §391.503 adopted to be effective June 17, 2015, 40 TexReg 3632.