Requirements for Consultants, Contractors and

Persons Doing Business with the City

The following excerpted information from the City’s Code of Ethics (Dallas City Code Chapter 12A) is provided to consultants and contractors as required.  All consultants, contractors or persons doing business with the City are expected and required to follow the applicable sections of the City’s Code of Ethics.  The Ethics Code addresses donations; gifts to City officials and employees; impermissible interests in City contracts; and restrictions on lobbying by bidders on City contracts.  Violations of the City’s Ethics Code may result in sanctions such as disqualification from contracting or voiding of prior actions.

Full text of the City’s Ethics Code may be found at the following link http://citysecretary2.dallascityhall.com/pdf/code/12A.PDF.  Bidders should direct any questions to the buyer assigned to the solicitation.  

SEC. 12A-5. GIFTS

(a)        General rule. 

SEC. 12A-5.1. DONATIONS

(a)        Purpose and procedures.

            (1)       Donations of money, real estate, products, and services to the city allow citizens to make valuable contributions to city programs, and should be encouraged. Persons and business entities making donations should not, however, expect any reward, reciprocal benefit, or influence.

(b)        General rule.

(2)       A person or business entity shall not knowingly offer any donation to the city of money, real estate, products, or services that:

(A)       reasonably tends to influence or reward official conduct; or

(B)       the person or business entity knows is intended to influence or reward the discharge of official duties.

SEC. 12A-12. PROHIBITED INTERESTS IN CONTRACTS

(a)        Charter restrictions relating to financial interests in city contracts. A city official or employee shall comply with the restrictions on financial interests in city contracts as set forth in Chapter XXII, Section 11 of the city charter.

(b)        Additional restrictions relating to city contracts. A city official or employee may not, while in the service or employment of the city, either individually or as the officer or principal of an entity:

(1)        submit a bid or proposal to make any city contract, whether or not the contract is required by state law to be competitively bid; or

(2)        negotiate or enter into any city contract whether or not the contract is required by state law to be competitively bid.

(c)        Exceptions. The restrictions contained in Subsections (a) and (b) of this section do not apply to a member of: 

(1)       a board of a nonprofit development corporation that acts as an instrumentality of the city; or 

(2)       a municipal management district board. 

(d)       Restrictions relating to the first year of employment. During the first year of city service, a city official or employee shall not participate in the making or awarding of a contract, or attempt to use their official position to influence a city decision relating to a contract, if a party to the contract is a person or entity by whom the city official or employee was employed within one year before beginning city service.

SEC. 12A-15.8. RESTRICTED ACTIVITIES 

 (a)       False statements. A person who lobbies or engages another person to lobby, or any other person acting on behalf of such person, shall not intentionally or knowingly:

            (1)       make any false or misleading statement of fact to any city official; or

            (2)       knowing a document to contain a false statement, cause a copy of such document to be received by a city official without notifying such official in writing of the truth.

(b)       Failure to correct erroneous statement. A registrant who learns that a statement contained in a registration form or activity report filed by the registrant during the past three years is false shall correct that statement by written notification to the city secretary within 30 days of learning of the falsehood.

(c)        Personal obligation of city officials. A person who lobbies or engages another person to lobby, or any other person acting on behalf of such person, shall not do any act, or refrain from doing any act, with the express purpose and intent of placing any city official under personal obligation to such lobbyist or person.

(d)       Improper influence. A registrant shall not cause or influence the introduction of any ordinance, resolution, appeal, application, petition, nomination, or amendment for the purpose of thereafter being employed as a lobbyist to secure its granting, denial, confirmation, rejection, passage, or defeat.

(e)        False appearances. A person who lobbies or engages another person to lobby, or any other person acting on behalf of such person, shall not cause any communication to be sent to a city official in the name of any fictitious person, or in the name of any real person except with the consent of such real person.

(f)        Prohibited representations. A person who lobbies or engages another person to lobby, or any other person acting on behalf of such person, shall not represent, either directly or indirectly, orally or in writing, that the person can control or obtain the vote or action of any city official.

(g)       Lobbying by bidders and proposers on city contracts. 

            (1)       A person responding to a request for bids or request for proposals on a city contract shall not lobby a city council member either directly or indirectly (through a representative, employee, or agent) from the time the advertisement or public notification of the request for bids or request for proposals is made until the time the contract is awarded by the city council. 

            (2)       A city council member shall not discuss a request for bids or a request for proposals on a city contract either directly (with the person or entity submitting the bid or proposal) or indirectly (with a lobbyist, representative, employee, or agent of the person or entity submitting the bid or proposal) from the time the advertisement or public notification of the request for bids or request for proposals is made until the time the contract is awarded by the city council.  The department issuing the request for bids or request for proposals shall forward to all city council members any protest received and any response to that protest before city council considers awarding that city contract.

            (3)       This subsection does not prohibit a bidder or proposer from speaking at the city council meeting where the award of the contract is considered.

(h)       Campaign managers.  A person who served as a campaign manager or campaign treasurer for a person who was elected as a city council member may not (either personally or through a representative, employee, or agent) lobby a city council member or a city official for one year after the date of the city council election.  A "campaign manager" is any person who directs day-to-day operations of the campaign or determines the strategies or policies of the campaign.

SEC. 12A-15.9. IDENTIFICATION OF CLIENTS.

(a)        Appearances. Each person who lobbies or engages another person to lobby before the city council or before a city board or commission identified in Section 12A-15.2(1)(H) shall orally identify himself or herself and any client he or she represents upon beginning an address. Each person who lobbies or engages another person to lobby shall also disclose on appropriate sign-in sheets his or her identity, the identity of the client he or she represents, and whether he or she is registered as a lobbyist under this article.

(b)       Oral lobbying contacts. Any person who makes an oral lobbying contact with a city official shall, at the time of the lobbying contact, state whether the person is registered under this article and identify each client on whose behalf the lobbying contact is made.

 (c)       Written lobbying contacts. Any registrant who makes a written lobbying contact (including an electronic communication) with a city official shall identify each client on whose behalf the lobbying contact is made and identify himself or herself as a registered lobbyist. 

SEC. 12A-16. APPERANCE BEFORE CITY COUNCIL, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND OTHER CITY BODIES.

A person who appears before the city council, a city board or commission, or any other city body shall identify himself or herself and give his or her business or residence address. 

SEC. 12A-17. REPRESENTATION OF OTHERS.

A person who represents, orally or in writing, the interests of another person (other than his or her spouse, minor children, or domestic partner) before the city council, a city board or commission, another city body, or a city official or employee shall disclose the identity of the person represented. 

SEC. 12A-39. DISQUALIFICATION FROM CONTRACTING 

(a)        Any person who has been found by the ethics advisory commission to have intentionally or knowingly violated any provision of this chapter may be prohibited by the city council from entering into any contract with the city for a period of two years. 

(b)       It is a violation of this chapter: 

(1)       for a person debarred from entering into a contract with the city to enter or attempt to enter into a contract with the city during the period of disqualification from contracting; or 

(d)       A business entity may be disqualified from contracting with the city based on the conduct of the entity's employee or agent, if the conduct occurred within the scope of employment or agency with the entity.