Tell the brother-in-law to find work elsewhere

The county family is sometimes closely knit and other times at odds, but it ought to never become so close that officials start hiring their spouses and siblings. That's nepotism, and though it's technically a misdemeanor, it's a good way to get thrown out of office.

Texas Association of Counties Assistant General Counsel Jenny Gilchrist spoke on nepotism and conflicts of interest to elected officials in March at the County Management Institute.

Gilchrist, who knows all the words to the old Irish drinking song "I Am My Own Grandpa," said it takes trained professionals (say prosecutor) hours to figure out how people are related by degrees of consanguinity and affinity, but it ought to be easy for the elected official.

"Nepotism is the easiest pitfall in the world to avoid. You know who you are related to," Gilchrist said.

An elected official shouldn't hire blood kin: parents, children, siblings, grandchildren, grandparents, nephews, or nieces. It also applies to spouses and their blood kin. There are two notable exceptions. Cousins are exempt, as are a spouse's in-laws. The official might refer to his wife's brother-in-law as his own brother-in-law, but the nepotism statute doesn't see it that way.

Gilchrist admits that not every case is as plainly obvious as all that. In one South Texas county the assistant to the justice of the peace told Gilchrist that she worked for the justice of the peace for years until he died, and then her husband ran for the office. Now she works for her husband. Could she keep her job? Well, yes, under the carryover exception, but she can only get cost of living allowances. Her salary cannot be increased beyond that.

Perhaps the quirkiest entry in the nepotism statute, however, says that one cannot hire his sibling's ex-spouse if the couple had children together, presumably because one might feel that the familial bond with the children is a compelling argument for favoritism, raises, and other troublesome misconduct.

A bona fide conflict of interest, however, pokes farther into one's business. It's not just whom the official is related to, but whom the relatives are related to, and whose monies and interests are joined.

"A conflict of interest is more difficult to determine for the official because you, as an elected official, have to know not only your personal business, but your family's personal business and your in-laws' personal business. I don't know many people who can get their father-in-law to detail his finances," Gilchrist said.

For instance, if a commissioner has a stake in a corporation (called a pecuniary interest) with which the county conducts business, the commissioner would need to confess his interest by affidavit filed with the county clerk and abstain from voting on county business related to that corporation.

Similarly, if two commissioners on the court have like interests in a corporation, they would both need to confess their pecuniary interests and abstain from voting.

On the other hand, if a quorum of the court have interests in the corporation, and all confess those interests by affidavit, they may vote on this item of business.

An obvious example is the case of two Jackson County commissioners who intend to marry in the summer. They will need to abstain from voting on each other's salary. Gilchrist suggested that at budget time, the court simply vote on each commissioner's and the judge's salary independently. The married commissioners would then abstain from voting on their own salary and their spouse's pay.

"Much of it is common sense and some of it gets a bit technical, but the best way to keep out of trouble is to tell your kids and in-laws to look for a job somewhere else, and don't vote to buy goods from any store where you or your spouse greets the owner with 'Hey, Honey'," she said.

It also pays to have a good relationship with the district attorney. The penalty is six months in jail, a $500 fine, and the great likelihood of losing the office.

Affinity County officials may not hire persons related to them in the first or second degree of affinity (related by marriage) or the first, second, or third degrees of consanguinity (blood relatives). Consanguinity