Bill Text: TX HB2586 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to political contributions and political expenditures made to or by political committees or other persons.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 5-2)
Status: (Passed) 2019-06-14 - Effective on 9/1/19 [HB2586 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB2586-Enrolled.html
H.B. No. 2586 |
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relating to political contributions and political expenditures | ||
made to or by political committees or other persons. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 251.001, Election Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subdivisions (8) and (12) and adding Subdivision (21) to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(8) "Direct campaign expenditure" means a campaign | ||
expenditure that does not constitute a campaign contribution by the | ||
person making the expenditure. A campaign expenditure does not | ||
constitute a contribution by the person making the expenditure to a | ||
candidate or officeholder if the expenditure is made without the | ||
prior consent or approval of the candidate or officeholder on whose | ||
behalf the expenditure is made. A campaign expenditure made in | ||
connection with a measure does not constitute a contribution by the | ||
person making the expenditure if it is not made as a political | ||
contribution to a political committee supporting or opposing the | ||
measure. | ||
(12) "Political committee" means two or more [ |
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of accepting political contributions or making political | ||
expenditures. The term does not include a group composed | ||
exclusively of two or more individual filers or political | ||
committees required to file reports under this title who make | ||
reportable expenditures for a joint activity. | ||
(21) "In-kind contribution" means a contribution of | ||
goods, services, or any other thing of value that is not money, and | ||
includes an agreement made or other obligation incurred, whether | ||
legally enforceable or not, to make the contribution. The term does | ||
not include a direct campaign expenditure. | ||
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 251, Election Code, is | ||
amended by adding Sections 251.0015 and 251.0016 to read as | ||
follows: | ||
Sec. 251.0015. COMMUNICATION WITH CANDIDATE. For purposes | ||
of Section 251.001(8), communication between a person and a | ||
candidate, officeholder, or candidate's or officeholder's agent is | ||
not evidence that the person obtained the candidate's or | ||
officeholder's consent or approval for a campaign expenditure made | ||
after the communication by the person on behalf of the candidate or | ||
officeholder unless the communication establishes that: | ||
(1) the expenditure is incurred at the request or | ||
suggestion of the candidate, officeholder, or candidate's or | ||
officeholder's agent; | ||
(2) the candidate, officeholder, or candidate's or | ||
officeholder's agent is materially involved in decisions regarding | ||
the creation, production, or distribution of a campaign | ||
communication related to the expenditure; or | ||
(3) the candidate, officeholder, or candidate's or | ||
officeholder's agent shares information about the candidate's or | ||
officeholder's plans or needs that is: | ||
(A) material to the creation, production, or | ||
distribution of a campaign communication related to the | ||
expenditure; and | ||
(B) not available to the public. | ||
Sec. 251.0016. COMMON VENDOR. A person using the same | ||
vendor as a candidate, officeholder, or political committee | ||
established or controlled by a candidate or officeholder is not | ||
acting in concert with the candidate, officeholder, or committee to | ||
make a campaign expenditure unless the person makes the expenditure | ||
using information from the vendor about the campaign plans or needs | ||
of the candidate, officeholder, or committee that is: | ||
(1) material to the expenditure; and | ||
(2) not available to the public. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 252.003, Election Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(a) In addition to the information required by Section | ||
252.002, a campaign treasurer appointment by a general-purpose | ||
committee must include: | ||
(1) the full name, and any acronym of the name that | ||
will be used in the name of the committee as provided by Subsection | ||
(d), of each corporation, labor organization, or other association | ||
or legal entity that directly establishes, administers, or controls | ||
the committee, if applicable, or the name of each person who | ||
determines to whom the committee makes contributions or the name of | ||
each person who determines for what purposes the committee makes | ||
expenditures; | ||
(2) the full name and address of each general-purpose | ||
committee to whom the committee intends to make political | ||
contributions; [ |
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(3) the name of the committee and, if the name is an | ||
acronym, the words the acronym represents; and | ||
(4) before the committee may use a political | ||
contribution from a corporation or a labor organization to make a | ||
direct campaign expenditure in connection with a campaign for an | ||
elective office, an affidavit stating that: | ||
(A) the committee is not established or | ||
controlled by a candidate or an officeholder; and | ||
(B) the committee will not use any political | ||
contribution from a corporation or a labor organization to make a | ||
political contribution to: | ||
(i) a candidate for elective office; | ||
(ii) an officeholder; or | ||
(iii) a political committee that has not | ||
filed an affidavit under this subdivision or Section | ||
252.0031(a)(2). | ||
(a-1) Filing an affidavit under Subsection (a)(4) does not | ||
create any additional reporting requirements under Section | ||
254.261. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 252.0031, Election Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) In addition to the information required by Section | ||
252.002, a campaign treasurer appointment by a specific-purpose | ||
committee for supporting or opposing a candidate for an office | ||
specified by Section 252.005(1) must include: | ||
(1) the name of and the office sought by the candidate; | ||
and | ||
(2) before the committee may use a political | ||
contribution from a corporation or a labor organization to make a | ||
direct campaign expenditure in connection with a campaign for an | ||
elective office, an affidavit stating that: | ||
(A) the committee is not established or | ||
controlled by a candidate or an officeholder; and | ||
(B) the committee will not use any political | ||
contribution from a corporation or a labor organization to make a | ||
political contribution to: | ||
(i) a candidate for elective office; | ||
(ii) an officeholder; or | ||
(iii) a political committee that has not | ||
filed an affidavit under this subdivision or Section 252.003(a)(4). | ||
(a-1) If the [ |
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under Subsection (a) changes, the committee shall immediately file | ||
an amended appointment reflecting the change. | ||
(a-2) Filing an affidavit under Subsection (a)(2) does not | ||
create any additional reporting requirements under Section | ||
254.261. | ||
SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 253, Election Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 253.097 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 253.097. CONTRIBUTION FROM CORPORATION OR LABOR | ||
ORGANIZATION. A corporation or labor organization may make | ||
campaign contributions from its own property to a political | ||
committee that has filed an affidavit with the committee's campaign | ||
treasurer appointment in accordance with Section 252.003(a)(4) or | ||
252.0031(a)(2). | ||
SECTION 6. Sections 253.100(a) and (e), Election Code, are | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) A corporation, acting alone or with one or more other | ||
corporations, may make one or more political expenditures to | ||
finance the establishment or administration of a general-purpose | ||
committee. In addition to any other expenditure that is considered | ||
permissible under this section, a corporation may make an | ||
expenditure for the maintenance and operation of a general-purpose | ||
committee, including an expenditure for: | ||
(1) office space maintenance and repairs; | ||
(2) telephone and Internet services; | ||
(3) office equipment; | ||
(4) utilities; | ||
(5) general office and meeting supplies; | ||
(6) salaries for routine clerical, data entry, and | ||
administrative assistance necessary for the proper administrative | ||
operation of the committee; | ||
(7) legal and accounting fees for the committee's | ||
compliance with this title; | ||
(8) routine administrative expenses incurred in | ||
establishing and administering a general-purpose political | ||
committee; | ||
(9) management and supervision of the committee, | ||
including expenses incurred in holding meetings of the committee's | ||
governing body to interview candidates and make endorsements | ||
relating to the committee's support; | ||
(10) the recording of committee decisions; | ||
(11) expenses incurred in hosting candidate forums in | ||
which all candidates for a particular office in an election are | ||
invited to participate on the same terms; [ |
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(12) expenses incurred in preparing and delivering | ||
committee contributions; or | ||
(13) creation and maintenance of the committee's | ||
public Internet web pages that do not contain political | ||
advertising. | ||
(e) Subsection (d) does not apply to a corporation or labor | ||
organization making a campaign contribution to a political | ||
committee under Section 253.097 or an expenditure to communicate | ||
with its stockholders or members, as applicable, or with the | ||
families of its stockholders or members as provided by Section | ||
253.098. | ||
SECTION 7. Section 253.101, Election Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: | ||
(a-1) Subsection (a) does not prohibit a political | ||
committee from making a political contribution or political | ||
expenditure wholly or partly from a campaign contribution made by a | ||
corporation or labor organization to the political committee under | ||
Section 253.096 or 253.097. | ||
SECTION 8. Section 254.031(a), Election Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, each | ||
report filed under this chapter must include: | ||
(1) the amount of political contributions, other than | ||
political contributions described by Subdivision (1-a), from each | ||
person that in the aggregate exceed $50 and that are accepted during | ||
the reporting period by the person or committee required to file a | ||
report under this chapter, the full name and address of the person | ||
making the contributions, and the dates of the contributions; | ||
(1-a) the amount of political contributions from each | ||
person that are made electronically and that are accepted during | ||
the reporting period by the person or committee required to file a | ||
report under this chapter, the full name and address of the person | ||
making the contributions, and the dates of the contributions; | ||
(2) the amount of loans that are made during the | ||
reporting period for campaign or officeholder purposes to the | ||
person or committee required to file the report and that in the | ||
aggregate exceed $50, the dates the loans are made, the interest | ||
rate, the maturity date, the type of collateral for the loans, if | ||
any, the full name and address of the person or financial | ||
institution making the loans, the full name and address, principal | ||
occupation, and name of the employer of each guarantor of the loans, | ||
the amount of the loans guaranteed by each guarantor, and the | ||
aggregate principal amount of all outstanding loans as of the last | ||
day of the reporting period; | ||
(3) the amount of political expenditures that in the | ||
aggregate exceed $100 and that are made during the reporting | ||
period, the full name and address of the persons to whom the | ||
expenditures are made, and the dates and purposes of the | ||
expenditures; | ||
(4) the amount of each payment made during the | ||
reporting period from a political contribution if the payment is | ||
not a political expenditure, the full name and address of the person | ||
to whom the payment is made, and the date and purpose of the | ||
payment; | ||
(5) the total amount or a specific listing of the | ||
political contributions of $50 or less accepted and the total | ||
amount or a specific listing of the political expenditures of $100 | ||
or less made during the reporting period; | ||
(6) the total amount of all political contributions | ||
accepted and the total amount of all political expenditures made | ||
during the reporting period; | ||
(7) the name of each candidate or officeholder who | ||
benefits from a direct campaign expenditure made during the | ||
reporting period by the person or committee required to file the | ||
report, and the office sought or held, excluding a direct campaign | ||
expenditure that is made by the principal political committee of a | ||
political party on behalf of a slate of two or more nominees of that | ||
party; | ||
(8) as of the last day of a reporting period for which | ||
the person is required to file a report, the total amount of | ||
political contributions accepted, including interest or other | ||
income on those contributions, maintained in one or more accounts | ||
in which political contributions are deposited as of the last day of | ||
the reporting period; | ||
(9) any credit, interest, rebate, refund, | ||
reimbursement, or return of a deposit fee resulting from the use of | ||
a political contribution or an asset purchased with a political | ||
contribution that is received during the reporting period and the | ||
amount of which exceeds $100; | ||
(10) any proceeds of the sale of an asset purchased | ||
with a political contribution that is received during the reporting | ||
period and the amount of which exceeds $100; | ||
(11) any investment purchased with a political | ||
contribution that is received during the reporting period and the | ||
amount of which exceeds $100; | ||
(12) any other gain from a political contribution that | ||
is received during the reporting period and the amount of which | ||
exceeds $100; and | ||
(13) the full name and address of each person from whom | ||
an amount described by Subdivision (9), (10), (11), or (12) is | ||
received, the date the amount is received, and the purpose for which | ||
the amount is received. | ||
SECTION 9. Section 254.031(a), Election Code, as amended by | ||
this Act, applies only to a report under Chapter 254, Election Code, | ||
that is required to be filed on or after the effective date of this | ||
Act. A report under Chapter 254, Election Code, that is required to | ||
be filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the | ||
law in effect on the date the report is required to be filed, and the | ||
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 10. The change in law made by this Act applies only | ||
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is | ||
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, | ||
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For | ||
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the | ||
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred | ||
before that date. | ||
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I certify that H.B. No. 2586 was passed by the House on May 7, | ||
2019, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 4, 2 present, not | ||
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. | ||
No. 2586 on May 23, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 2, | ||
2 present, not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
I certify that H.B. No. 2586 was passed by the Senate, with | ||
amendments, on May 19, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays | ||
2. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
APPROVED: __________________ | ||
Date | ||
__________________ | ||
Governor |