Vendor Disclosure Compliance

Establishing and Maintaining a Business Relationship with the City of Corsicana

Vendor Conflict of Interest Questionnaire

A business or person and their agents who do business with the City of Corsicana are required to complete a conflict of interest questionnaire (Form CIQ) no later than seven days after being contacted by the City of Corsicana for the purpose of establishing a business relationship. This legal requirement went into effect January 1, 2006, pursuant to House Bill 914, Local Government Code, Chapter 176. The form is only legally required by State Statute for certain vendor relationships, but City policy is to require the form from all vendors, to ensure that the vendor compliance may be verified.

Procedures for Existing Vendors

Form CIQ is due annually, as there may have been changes to our Council or other Elected Officials, Staff, and Board Members. These changes may affect the responses to the questions on Form CIQ. Form CIQ is required to be completed annually and signed by the appropriate person in your organization. Approximately June 1 of each year, the City will mail Form CIQ to the vendors that it has paid within the previous 12 months. Form CIQ is due back to the City of Corsicana’s Finance / City Secretary Department by approximately June 10th of each year. In addition, the regulations for filing a Certificate of Interest Parties is applicable to existing vendors during the bidding process. Please see the information below for more details.

Procedures for New Vendors

New vendors who wish to do business with the city will be mailed a Form CIQ, along with a Form W-9, requesting the vendor’s tax ID number. These forms are due back to the City within seven days of receipt. In addition, the regulations for filing a Certificate of Interested Parties is applicable to new vendors during the bidding process. Please see the information below for more details.

Tools for Compliance - Local Government Code Chapter 176

Conflict of Interest Questionnaire (Form CIQ)

Local Government Code, Chapter 176

Click the highlighted links to find a listing of Principal officials (PDF), including the City Council, City Attorney, Municipal Court Judge, and City Department Heads, or other Board or Commission Members.

Certificate of Interested Parties - Applies to both Existing and New Vendors

In 2015, the Texas Legislature adopted House Bill 1295, which added section 2252.908 of the Government Code. 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 of state agency.

The law applies only 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, and is applicable to Existing Vendors or New Vendors.

The Texas Ethics Commission was required to adopt rules necessary to implement that law, 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 (Chapter 46) on November 30, 2015 to implement the law.

Filing Process:

On January 1, 2016, the commission made available on its website a new filing application that must be used to file Form 1295. A business entity must use the application to enter the required information on Form 1295 and print a copy of the completed form, which will include a certification of filing that will contain a unique certification number. An authorized agent of the business entity must sign the printed copy of the form and have the form notarized. The completed Form 1295 with the certification of filing must be returned with bidding documentation.

Information regarding how to use the filing application is available. Please follow instructional Video for Business Entities.

Failure to Comply:

Failure to meet these deadlines could result in termination of your business relationship with the City of Corsicana, whether or not a contract is in place. This is a legal requirement.

Tools for Compliance - Government Code Chapter 2252

Begin the filing process for Form 1295

Government Code, Chapter 2252