Regents' Rules and Regulations

Part One, Chapter VI, Section 6.6

Solicitation

6.6 Solicitation.--The term "solicitation" means the sale, lease, rental or offer for sale, lease, rental of any property, product, merchandise, publication, or service, whether for immediate or future delivery; an oral statement or the distribution or display of printed material, merchandise, or products that is designed to encourage the purchase, use, or rental of any property, product, merchandise, publication, or service; the oral or written appeal or request to support or join an organization other than a registered student, faculty, or staff organization; the receipt of or request for any gift or contribution; or the request to support or oppose or to vote for or against a candidate, issue, or proposition appearing on the ballot at any election held pursuant to state or federal law or local ordinances.

6.61 No solicitation shall be conducted on any property, street, or sidewalk, or in any building, structure, or facility owned or controlled by any component institution or the U. T. System unless permitted by the Regents' Rules and Regulations. The following activities shall not be deemed solicitations prohibited by this Subsection when conducted in accordance with the approved rules and regulations of the U. T. System or the component institution. Such activities must be conducted in a manner that does not disturb or interfere with the academic programs or administrative activities of the U. T. System or the component institution or any program or activity that is conducted by or is authorized by the U. T. System or component institution; does not interfere with entry to or exit from a building, structure, or facility; does not interfere with the flow of pedestrians or vehicular traffic on sidewalks or streets or at places of ingress and egress to and from property, buildings, or facilities; does not harass, embarrass, or intimidate the person or persons being solicited; and does not violate applicable state, federal, or local laws or regulations:

(a) The distribution, sale, or offer for sale of a newspaper, magazine, or other publication by means of an unattended rack or vending machine in area(s) designated in advance by the chief administrative officer of the U. T. System or a component institution or his or her delegate for the conduct of such activity.

(b) The sale or offer for sale of food, drink, or any other product that may be lawfully sold by means of a vending machine that is operated by the U. T. System or component institution or a subcontractor of either, under an approved written agreement, in an area designated in advance by the chief administrative officer of the U. T. System or the component institution or his or her delegate.

(c) The sale or offer for sale by the U. T. System or component institution or a subcontractor of either, under an approved written agreement, of any publication of the U. T. System or the component institution or of any book or other printed material to be used in the regular academic work of the component institution.

(d) Any service or service facility for the convenience of the students, staff, faculty, patients, or bona fide visitors that is operated or maintained by the U. T. System or component institution or by a subcontractor or lessee of either, under an approved written agreement, including, but not limited to: (1) any bookstore, specialty store, laundry, pharmacy, cafeteria, or food service; (2) a child care facility limited to children or bona fide dependents of students, faculty, or staff; (3) a state or federal credit union with membership limited primarily to students, faculty, and staff of the component institution and other area institutions of higher education or other component institutions and the U. T. System, and the officers and employees of organizations closely related to the component institution's educational mission, such as officially recognized alumni associations and cooperative bookstores; (4) private post office boxes under an approved written agreement that limits the use to students, faculty, and staff of the component institution; (5) unmanned teller machines and drop-boxes for express delivery services that are located and maintained under an approved written agreement that prohibits advertising the location of the unmanned teller machine or drop-boxes to the general public; or (6) a travel agency under an approved written agreement that limits the use primarily to students, faculty, and staff of the component institution and prohibits advertising the institutional location of the travel agency to the general public.

(e) The sale or offer for sale by the U. T. System or component institution or a subcontractor of either, under an approved written agreement, of food, drink, souvenirs, novelty items, and programs at athletic contests or other programs or events sponsored or authorized by the U. T. System or component institution.

(f) The collection of contributions or the sale of merchandise, food, or nonalcoholic beverages by the students' association or by a registered student, faculty, or staff organization. A students' association or a registered student, faculty, or staff organization may not conduct such solicitation activities on behalf of or for the benefit of any individual, association, organization, corporation, or group of individuals that is not registered as a student, faculty, or staff organization or that is not otherwise qualified under the criteria of Item (i) of Subdivision 6.61 to conduct solicitation. In the case of specific drives for disaster relief, the chief student affairs officer of the institution may approve a drive that complies with all other requirements of Subsection 6.6. Texas law allows a registered student organization to be relieved from State sales tax liability for one fund-raising sale per month. All proposed sales events are subject to applicable provisions of these Rules and to other institutional policies concerning the time, place, and manner of solicitation. The sales must be for the benefit of the registered organization and may not involve another entity not authorized to solicit under these Rules. The items offered for sale may not be items that the organization has obtained on consignment.

(g) The collection of membership fees or dues by registered student, faculty, or staff organizations at meetings of such organizations scheduled in accordance with the facilities use regulations of any component institution.

(h) The collection of admission fees for the exhibition of movies or for other programs that are sponsored or presented by the U. T. System or component institution or, if permitted by and scheduled in accordance with the approved rules and regulations of the component institution, by the students' association or by a registered student, faculty, or staff organization.

(i) Solicitation of funds by any organization that can present to the Chancellor of the U. T. System or the president of the component institution, or his or her delegate, written evidence from the Internal Revenue Service that the organization has been granted an exemption from taxation under Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code. Such solicitation must be conducted in an area(s) designated for that purpose by such chief administrative officer or his or her delegate. Persons soliciting on behalf of an organization must have credentials identifying them as authorized agents of the organization. Permission to solicit shall not be used by the organization as an endorsement by the U. T. System or the component institutions. No organization may solicit under this subdivision for more than a total of fourteen days, whether continuous or intermittent, during each State fiscal year.

(j) Occasional sales or offers of sales of goods or services that comply with applicable federal, State, and local laws and regulations and are conducted solely for the resident(s) of an individual university residence hall room or an individual apartment when a resident of such room or apartment has given specific invitation in advance for salespersons to come to the individual residence hall room or individual apartment for that purpose. This exception does not authorize sales or offers of sales of goods or services within a university residence hall room or apartment by the occupant, door-to-door sales or offers of sales of goods or services, or sales or offers of sales of goods or services to persons who are present in an individual residence hall room or apartment but are not residents of such room or apartment.

(k) Under the terms of an approved written agreement, the acknowledgement of a sponsor of an intercollegiate athletics department or athletic event of a component institution may be displayed on the official Web page of such athletics department and, at the option of the sponsor, a textual hypertext link and/or a graphic hypertext link to the Web page of the sponsor may also be displayed. Such agreement may also provide for an acknowledgement of the sponsor to be announced over a public address system, displayed on a scoreboard or electronic message center or displayed by other means at locations designated for that purpose in athletic facilities pursuant to an approved policy of the component institution. The content of such acknowledgement and any use of the name, logos, symbols, or marks of a component institution by the sponsor must be according to established formats approved by the Trademark Licensing Director or, if nonstandard, have the prior written approval of the Trademark Licensing Director.

(l) Advertising displayed on an outdoor electronic marquee or message center owned and operated by the U. T. System or a component institution.

(m) Advertising and merchandise displayed at an athletic tournament that is sanctioned by the official national or international organization for such athletic competitions; provided that, such advertising and merchandise is required to be displayed under the terms of one or more contractual agreements between such organization and one or more sponsors and such contracts were in effect prior to the date that a component institution was selected as the site for the tournament.

(n) The sale or offer for sale by a registered student organization of charitable raffle tickets on behalf of an organization that is authorized to conduct a charitable raffle under the provisions of Article 179f, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes.

(o) The display and demonstration by manufacturers and distributors of personal computer hardware and software suitable for use by students and faculty in the academic programs of a component institution and the presentation of information and demonstrations related to remote networks for personal computers by entities that provide access to such networks. Such activities may be conducted once each academic year upon invitation by the chief administrative officer of the component institution or his or her delegate and must be limited to the time and place designated by and under guidelines specified and controlled by the component institution. A manufacturer or distributor of personal computer hardware or software or an entity that provides access to remote networks for personal computers may not make sales or take orders.

(p) The distribution or presentation to officers and employees of the U. T. System and component institutions of material related to health benefit plans, life insurance, tax sheltered annuities, retirement plans or programs, or other benefits that are available to such officers and employees through employee benefit plans or programs offered by or approved by the U. T. System. Such material may be distributed or presented only at the Office of Human Resources of the U. T. System or component institutions, at the benefits office of a health profession practice plan of a health component institution, or at meetings scheduled for that purpose pursuant to guidelines established by the U. T. System Office of Human Resources. Those companies that are currently authorized Optional Retirement Program vendors may, at the invitation of the U. T. System and component institutions, be permitted to engage in on-campus group seminars for the purpose of providing education, product marketing, and participant enrollment, subject to such rules and limitations as the U. T. System and component institutions may deem necessary and appropriate. Currently authorized Optional Retirement Program vendors may advertise such on-campus meetings throughout the institution, subject to prior approval by the institution. The term "currently authorized Optional Retirement Program vendor" includes a company that has a current contractual agreement with the U. T. System to provide Optional Retirement Program products to officers and employees of the U. T. System but does not include those companies with Grandfathered Optional Retirement Program participation or vendors of Tax Sheltered Annuity products or services.

(q) Solicitation by the officers or employees of the U. T. System or component institution acting in the course and scope of their authority.

(r) The distribution, at no cost, by a students' association or a registered student, faculty, or staff organization of a newspaper, magazine, or other publication that contains paid advertising and is published by such organization at its sole expense.

(s) The display and distribution of printed material from tables or booths by providers of services that are commonly utilized by students, faculty, and staff of a component institution, such as financial institutions, long distance telephone carriers, utilities, housing locators, printers and duplicators, tutors, or employment agencies. A component institution may designate no more than two one-day periods each academic year during which all authorized providers may engage in such activities in an area selected by the component institution. The number of providers authorized to participate on each of the two one-day periods will be determined by the component institution. The activities of a provider must be limited to the time and place designated by the component institution and must be conducted in compliance with Subdivision 6.61 and other guidelines specified by the component institution. A provider may not make sales of or take orders for services. The component institution shall charge an appropriate fee for the privilege of conducting such activities. Any provider who violates the Regents' Rules and Regulations or the rules and regulations of the component institution in the course of such activities or who has violated a provision of the Regents' Rules and Regulations or the rules and regulations of the component institution during the twelve-month period preceding a day designated by the component institution for activities authorized by this subdivision shall not be permitted to participate in such activities.

(t) A component institution may designate a reasonable number of areas immediately adjacent to the exterior of a facility used for intercollegiate athletic events and may authorize such areas to be used for the display of motor propelled vehicles and for the location of booths, tables, or kiosks to be used for the display of merchandise, the distribution of free samples of merchandise, and the display and distribution of printed material related to merchandise, products, or services. Such activities may be authorized only on the day before and the day of an intercollegiate athletic event or an event that is related to athletics that takes place in the facility. A component institution may designate a reasonable number of areas inside a facility used for intercollegiate athletic events for such activities if the designation and use of the area is approved by the safety officer of the component institution. All persons engaged in or associated with such displays and distributions must conduct those activities in compliance with Subdivision 6.61 and with other guidelines specified by the component institution. Such persons may not make sales of or take orders for such vehicles, merchandise, products, or services. The component institution shall charge an appropriate fee for the privilege of using such areas. If persons engaged in such activities violate the Regents' Rules and Regulations or the rules and regulations of the component institution, such persons and any entity that they are acting for shall not be permitted to engage in activities under this subdivision for a twelve-month period.

(u) In the course of an election process held pursuant to the approved constitution, bylaws, or election code of the faculty governance organization or of the student government organization of a component institution or an election held pursuant to the approved rules, regulations, or policies of a component institution, requests may be made to support or to vote for or against a qualified candidate for an office or position to be filled at such election or to support or to vote for or against a proposition to be decided at such election. Such request may be made only by the candidates for an office or position; by a registered student, faculty, or staff organization and its members; or by a student, faculty member, or staff member. Individuals and organizations making such requests must conduct all activities in compliance with the approved time, place, and manner regulations of the component institution; the provisions of the constitution, bylaws, election code, rules, regulations, or policies authorizing the election; and Subdivision 6.61. No faculty member, staff member, or student employee may engage in such activities during any period that he or she is being paid to perform services for a component institution.

(v) The request to support or to vote for or against a candidate for an elective position or office or for or against a proposition on a ballot for a public election held pursuant to federal, state, or local laws when such request is made by a registered student, faculty, or staff organization, or by a student, faculty member, or staff member. Persons or organizations must conduct such activities in compliance with Subdivision 6.61; with the time, place, and manner regulations of the component institution; with the provisions of federal, state, or local laws governing such election; and may not use any equipment, supplies, or services of a component institution. No faculty member, staff member, or student employee may engage in such activities during any period that he or she is being paid to perform duties for a component institution. No registered student, faculty, or staff organization that receives state funds from any source may engage in such activities.

(w) The placement on a Component Institution Web Page (as defined below) of textual and graphic information and a hypertext link to the Web site of a person or commercial entity for which the U. T. System or a component institution may receive revenue or avoid costs as a result of the permitted solicitation ("Web Site Solicitation"). Web Site Solicitations shall be placed on Component Institution Web Pages in accordance with guidelines promulgated by the Executive Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs. A Component Institution Web Page is a page created or maintained by or on behalf of a component institution or an office, department, or division of a component institution, and located within a component institution's information technology environment.

6.62 All permissible solicitation must be conducted in compliance with Subdivision 6.61 and the time, place, and manner regulations of the component institution. If, after reasonable investigation, it is determined that impermissible solicitation is being or has been conducted or that permissible solicitation is being or has been conducted in violation of the Regents' Rules and Regulations or the approved rules and regulations of the U. T. System or component institution (1) a student, a faculty member, or a staff member will be subject to such disciplinary penalty as may be appropriate, and (2) a students' association or a registered student, faculty, or staff organization shall be prohibited from solicitation for such period or periods of time as may be appropriate. In the case of repeated violations, the registered status of the organization may be cancelled or other appropriate penalties may be imposed. Any penalty or penalties must be imposed pursuant to the due process procedures of applicable Regents' Rules and Regulations or approved rules and regulations of the U. T. System or component institution.

6.63 The students' association and each registered student organization shall, within thirty days after the beginning of each long session semester, file with the Dean of Students or other appropriate official a statement fully disclosing the sources and amounts of money obtained from solicitations during the preceding semester or summer session and fully disclosing the purposes and amounts of the expenditures made during the preceding semester or summer session. Any organization failing to comply with the provisions of this Subsection shall be prohibited from solicitation activities until the organization files the required report.

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