Bill Text: TX SB1980 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub
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-Comm_Sub.html
By: Hughes | S.B. No. 1980 | |
(Leach, Klick, Israel, Moody, Burrows, et al.) | ||
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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. 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 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |