Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Conflicts of
interests and standards of conduct for TDMHMR employees and officers.
(1) Conflicts of interest. TDMHMR employees
and officers may not have a conflict of interest in contracts management. An
employee or officer has a conflict of interest when the employee, officer, or a
person related within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity to the
employee or officer, intends to have or has:
(A) actual employment with a respondent or
contractor;
(B) paid consultation
with a respondent or contractor;
(C) membership on a respondent's or
contractor's board of directors;
(D) ownership of 10% or more of the voting
stock of shares of a respondent or contractor;
(E) ownership of 10% or more or $5,000 or
more of the fair market value of a respondent or contractor; or
(F) received funds from a respondent or
contractor in excess of 10% of the employee's, officer's, or related person's
gross income for the previous year.
(2) Standards of conduct.
(A) TDMHMR employees and officers who
participate in contracts management may not:
(i) accept or solicit any gift, favor,
service, or benefit from a respondent or contractor that might reasonably tend
to influence the officer or employee in the discharge of official duties
relating to contract management, or that the officer or employee knows or
should know is being offered with the intent to influence the officer's or
employee's official duties; or
(ii)
intentionally or knowingly solicit, accept, or agree to accept any benefit for
having exercised official powers or for having performed official duties in
favor of another respondent or contractor.
(B) TDMHMR employees who participate in
contracts management shall comply with additional standards of ethical conduct
contained in the TDMHMR Ethics Operating Instruction (417-16) and applicable
state law.
(b) Conflicts of interests and standards of
conduct for a respondent and its officers and employees.
(1) Conflict of interest. A respondent and
its officers and employees may not have a conflict of interest in the
solicitation for which the respondent submits a response. A person has a
conflict of interest when that person is related within the second degree of
consanguinity or affinity to a TDMHMR employee or officer participating in the
contract management for that contract.
(2) Standards of conduct.
(A) A respondent may not attempt to induce
any business entity to submit or not submit a response.
(B) A respondent must arrive at its response
independently and without consultation, communication, or agreement for the
purposes of restricting competition.
(C) A respondent and its officers and
employees may not have a relationship with any person, at the time of
submitting the response or during the contract term, that may interfere with
fair competition.
(D) A respondent
and its officers and employees may not participate in the development of
specific criteria for award of the contract, nor participate in the selection
of the business entity to be awarded the contract.
(c) When contracting with former
and retired employees and officers, TDMHMR must ensure compliance with
applicable state law, including the Texas Government Code, §
572.054, §
659.0115, and § 2252.901.
(d)
Except for the contracts management of construction contracts and performance
contracts, all contracts management must be conducted in accordance with the
requirements of the TDMHMR Contracts Manual.
(e) All contracts must contain standard terms
and conditions as described in the TDMHMR Contracts Manual
unless an exception is granted by CC&PS.
(f) TDMHMR is prohibited from contracting
with a business entity that:
(1) is held in
abeyance or barred from the award of a federal or state contract;
(2) is not in good standing for state tax,
pursuant to the Texas Business Corporation Act, Texas Civil Statutes, Article
2.45;
(3) is not residing or
located in Texas unless the business entity has a Texas sales tax permit or
certifies that the entity does not sell taxable goods or services within Texas,
pursuant to the Texas Government Code, §
2155.004;
(4) is on warrant hold status, pursuant to
the Texas Government Code, §
403.055; or
(5) is ineligible to receive a contract,
pursuant to the Texas Family Code, §
231.006.
(g) TDMHMR must ensure that its
contractors comply with all contract provisions regardless of whether a
contractor subcontracts a portion of the contract.
(h) TDMHMR may make advance payments to a
contractor provided the payments meet a public purpose, ensure adequate
consideration, and are accompanied by sufficient controls to ensure
accomplishment of the public purpose. With the exception of contracts paid on a
capitated basis, at the end of each contract period the contractor must return
to TDMHMR any state or federal funds received from or through TDMHMR that have
not been expended or encumbered within the term of the contract.
(i) TDMHMR may recoup improper payments when
it is verified that a contractor has been overpaid because of improper billing
or accounting practices or failure to comply with the contract terms. The
determination of impropriety is based on federal, state, and local laws and
rules; TDMHMR procedures; contract provisions; or statistical data on program
use compiled from paid claims and other sources of data. TDMHMR will recoup
payments for contracted services not received by TDMHMR.
(j) TDMHMR shall ensure quality services are
provided to consumers, including during the transition from one contractor to
another.
(k) All purchases of goods
and services may be made only pursuant to a contract.
