Bill Text: TX SB1980 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
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: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-05-19 - Committee report sent to Calendars [SB1980 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB1980-Introduced.html
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: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-05-19 - Committee report sent to Calendars [SB1980 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB1980-Introduced.html
86R14396 TYPED | ||
By: Hughes | S.B. No. 1980 |
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relating to direct campaign expenditures by political committees. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 251.001, Election Code, is amended by | ||
amending subdivision (12) and adding new subdivisions (21) and (22) | ||
to read as follows: | ||
(12) "Political committee" means [ |
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more persons acting in concert with [ |
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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) "Acting in concert" means acting in cooperation | ||
or consultation with another, or under an express or implied | ||
agreement, to pursue a common activity. | ||
(22) "In-kind contribution" is a contribution of | ||
goods, services, or any other thing of value, except money, and | ||
includes an agreement made or other obligation incurred, whether | ||
legally enforceable or not, to make such a contribution. The term | ||
does not include a direct campaign expenditure. | ||
SECTION 2. Chapter 251, Election Code, is amended by adding | ||
Section 251.0015 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 251.0015. AFFIDAVIT FOR MEETING. (a) For purposes of | ||
Subsection 251.001(21), meeting with a candidate, or a candidate's | ||
agent or staff, is not evidence of acting in concert with the | ||
candidate for a person at the meeting who signs an affidavit in | ||
accordance with Subsection (b) within five days after the meeting, | ||
unless there is evidence that the person violated Section 37.02, | ||
Penal Code, in signing the affidavit under Subsection (b). | ||
(b) The affidavit must state that no person at the meeting | ||
provided to another person during the meeting: | ||
(1) mailing, email, or telephone lists; | ||
(2) dates for prospective campaign communications; | ||
(3) amounts being spent on prospective campaign | ||
communications; or | ||
(4) drafts or final proofs of prospective political | ||
advertising. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 252.003(a), Election Code, is amended 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) if the committee intends to use a political | ||
contribution from a corporation or a labor organization to make any | ||
direct campaign expenditures 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 any: | ||
(i) candidate for elective office; | ||
(ii) officeholder; or | ||
(iii) political committee that has not | ||
filed an affidavit under this subdivision. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 252.0031, Election Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 252.0031. CONTENTS OF APPOINTMENT BY SPECIFIC-PURPOSE | ||
COMMITTEE. (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) if the committee intends to use a political | ||
contribution from a corporation or a labor organization to make any | ||
direct campaign expenditures in connection with a campaign for an | ||
elective office, an affidavit in accordance with the requirements | ||
of Section 252.003(a)(4). | ||
(b) If [ |
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in a specific-purpose committee's appointment changes, the | ||
committee shall immediately file an amended appointment reflecting | ||
the change. | ||
(c) [ |
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supporting a candidate for an office specified by Section | ||
252.005(1) must include the name of the candidate that the | ||
committee supports. | ||
SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 253, Election Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 253.097 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 253.097. CONTRIBUTION FOR DIRECT CAMPAIGN | ||
EXPENDITURES. A corporation or labor organization may make | ||
campaign contributions from its own property to a political | ||
committee that has filed an affidavit with the commission in | ||
accordance with Section 252.003(a)(4) or 252.0031(a)(2). | ||
SECTION 6. Sections 253.100(a), (d) 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 webpages that do not contain political advertising. | ||
(d) A corporation or labor organization may not make | ||
expenditures under this section for: | ||
(1) political consulting to support or oppose a | ||
candidate; | ||
(2) telephoning or telephone banks to communicate with | ||
the public; | ||
(3) brochures and direct mail supporting or opposing a | ||
candidate; | ||
(4) partisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote | ||
drives; | ||
(5) political fund-raising other than from its | ||
stockholders or members, as applicable, or the families of its | ||
stockholders or members; | ||
(6) voter identification efforts, voter lists, or | ||
voter databases that include persons other than its stockholders or | ||
members, as applicable, or the families of its stockholders or | ||
members; | ||
(7) polling designed to support or oppose a candidate | ||
other than of its stockholders or members, as applicable, or the | ||
families of its stockholders or members; or | ||
(8) recruiting candidates. | ||
(e) Subsection (d) does not apply to a corporation or labor | ||
organization making an expenditure [ |
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or 253.098. | ||
SECTION 7. Section 253.101, Election Code, is repealed. | ||
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |