Form 1295- New TEC Requirement to Execute Contracts (Eff. 1/1/16)
Certificate of Interested Parties-Form 1295
This only applies to contracts or amendments executed after January 1, 2016.
In 2015, the Texas Legislature adopted House Bill 1295. The law states that a governmental entity or state agency may not enter into certain contracts with a business entity unless the business entity submits a disclosure of interested parties to the governmental entity or state agency at the time the business entity submits the signed contract to the governmental entity or state agency. The law applies to a contract of a governmental entity or state agency that either (1) requires an action or vote by the governing body of the entity or agency before the contract may be signed or (2) has a value of at least $1 million. The disclosure requirement applies to a contract entered into on or after January 1, 2016.
To implement the law, the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) adopted new rules necessary to prescribe the disclosure of interested parties form, and post a copy of the form on the commission’s website. The commission adopted the Certificate of Interested Parties form, Form 1295, on October 5, 2015. The commission also adopted new rules as part of Chapter 46 of the Texas Administrative Code on November 30, 2015.
On January 1, 2016, TEC made a new filing application available on their website for business entities to use to both created and file Form 1295. Business entities will enter the required information on Form 1295 within the application and print a copy of the completed form, which will include a certification of filing with a unique certification number. An authorized agent of the business entity will need to sign the printed copy of the form and have the form notarized. The completed Form 1295 with the certification of filing must be included with the signed contract to the governmental body or state agency in order for the governmental body to execute the contract.
SAWS will then notify the commission, using TEC’s filing application, of the receipt of the filed Form 1295 with the certification of filing not later than the 30th day after the date the contract binds all parties to the contract.
TEC will then post the business entity’s completed Form 1295 to its website within seven (7) business days after receiving notice from SAWS acknowledging that it was received.
To obtain additional information on HB 1295, to learn more about TEC’s process to create a new account or to complete an electronic version of Form 1295 for submission with a signed contract, please go to the following link: