By: Hughes	S.B. No. 1980
	(Leach, Klick, Israel, Moody, Burrows, et al.)

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	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 [a group
	of] persons acting in concert with [that has as] a principal purpose
	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; [and]
	(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 [that] information required to be provided
	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; [or]
	(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.