AUSTIN, Texas — Elected officials in Texas are now required to disclose properties they own or rent to others.
A new rule passed by the Texas Ethics Commission on Tuesday requires public officials to list known properties on their annual personal finance statement.
The passage of the rule comes after The Texas Newsroom – an organization affiliated with NPR stations across the state including KUT in Austin – broke a story in September which reported that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not disclose a number of real estate endeavors and properties owned by either himself personally or his blind trust.
A blind trust is an arrangement that allows a person in public office to allow someone else to manage their private business ventures in order to prevent a conflict of interest.
According to the Texas Newsroom report, Paxton or his trust own 10 properties across five states. Of the properties, only one was reported on Paxton’s last ethics form.
If a politician were to break the new rule, they run the risk of facing fines or criminal charges.