1. (a) Composition of the board.

   1. (1) The Presiding Officer of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission shall appoint a majority of board members.
   2. (2) Current TPW employees will not be eligible to serve as voting members of the Board.

2. (b) General provisions. The official nonprofit partner (ONP) shall:

   1. (1) adopt a conflict of interest policy that precludes board members from benefiting financially from any business decision of the ONP;
   2. (2) publish an annual report each year and make it available to the general public; and
   3. (3) make its current IRS 990 return, its annual audit, and a copy of its application to the IRS for exempt status available to the general public upon request.

3. (c) TPW employee involvement.

   1. (1) No TPW employee shall hold a paid position with the ONP nor will any employee receive direct personal benefits from the ONP.
   2. (2) The ONP may, however, reimburse TPW employees for legitimate, documented expenses. Additionally, the ONP may award scholarships to TPW employees from private, donor-directed sources.
   3. (3) A TPW employee soliciting or accepting gifts or donations of equal to or greater than $500 in value on behalf of the ONP shall comply with the provisions of §51.167 of this title (relating to Employee Fundraising Activities).

4. (d) Accounting and Reporting.

   1. (1) The ONP shall adopt financial procedures that govern acceptance of and access to:

      1. (A) donor-restricted funds;
      2. (B) unrestricted funds; and
      3. (C) state funds. All state funds will be spent in support of TPW-established priorities.
   2. (2) TPW employees shall not directly spend or obligate ONP funds. The ONP and its employees will control all expenditures.
   3. (3) An independent accounting firm shall audit the ONP annually. A copy of that audit shall be sent to the TPW executive director. Any state funds received by the ONP shall be subject to audit by the State Auditor's Office.

5. (e) Compliance with state and federal requirements.

   1. (1) Expenditures of state funds by the ONP for a TPW project shall meet all applicable state and federal requirements governing TPW spending.
   2. (2) State funds held by the ONP shall be subject to investment according to Government Code, Chapter 2256. State funds held by the ONP shall be invested by competent investment professionals to yield the highest returns possible.
6. (f) Sponsorship. When consistent with the mission of TPW, the ONP may solicit and accept corporate sponsorships. The ONP shall follow the criteria set forth in §51.201 of this title (relating to Sponsorships) when seeking, accepting, and administering corporate sponsorships. Any interested party may submit a proposal for consideration. Sponsorship opportunities that include endorsements shall be made available to the public. All sponsorship proposals shall be given equal consideration.
7. (g) Lobbying. The ONP shall not use state funds to influence legislative action either by the ONP or by others funded by the ONP with state funds.
8. (h) Review. Not later than three years following the selection of an ONP by the commission, the commission shall assess whether the purposes for which the ONP was created still exist, if the ONP is serving those purposes, and if the ONP is still needed.
9. (i) The provisions of subsections (b), (c), (d)(1) and (2), and (e) of this section shall also apply to nonprofit partners as defined in Parks and Wildlife Code, §11.201.

Source Note:The provisions of this §51.165 adopted to be effective April 29, 2002, 27 TexReg 3566.