Opinion No.

Office of the Attorney General — State of Texas John Cornyn The Honorable J.E. "Buster" Brown Chair, Natural Resources Committee Texas State Senate P.O. Box 12068 Austin, Texas 78711-2068

Re: Whether the Texas Council on Environmental Technology may award a grant to one of its members or to a university that employs a member, and related question (RQ-0444-JC)

Dear Senator Brown:

Under the common law, if an officer of a governmental body has an interest in a contract before the body, the governmental body may not enter the contract. See Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. JC-0437 (2001) at 4. You question…