81R10310 CAE-D
By: Smith of Tarrant H.B. No. 2511
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to political contributions to and political expenditures
made by or on behalf of candidates, officeholders, and political
committees; providing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 251.001(2), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(2) "Contribution" means a direct or indirect transfer
of money, goods, services, or any other thing of value [and includes
an agreement made or other obligation incurred, whether legally
enforceable or not, to make a transfer]. The term includes a loan
or extension of credit, other than those expressly excluded by this
subdivision, and a guarantee of a loan or extension of credit,
including a loan described by this subdivision. The term does not
include:
(A) a loan made in the due course of business by a
corporation that is legally engaged in the business of lending
money and that has conducted the business continuously for more
than one year before the loan is made; or
(B) an expenditure required to be reported under
Section 305.006(b), Government Code.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 253, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 253.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 253.006. STUDY OF LIMITS ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND
EXPENDITURES. The commission shall conduct a study regarding
limits on political contributions to and political expenditures
made by or on behalf of candidates, officeholders, and political
committees in connection with legislative and executive offices.
The study must include a survey of states that have such limits to
determine the effect those limits have had. Recommendations under
this section must be made to the legislature not later than January
1, 2011. This section expires January 15, 2011.
SECTION 3. Section 253.035, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
(j) A person who violates this section commits an offense.
An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
SECTION 4. Section 253.042(g), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(g) The commission shall study possible restrictions on
amounts of reimbursements under Subsection (a) in connection with
the offices of state senator and state representative and member,
State Board of Education, and shall make appropriate
recommendations to the legislature on those matters.
Recommendations under this section must be made to the legislature
not later than January 1, 2011, and may be combined with
recommendations made under Section 253.006. This subsection
expires January 15, 2011.
SECTION 5. Section 253.061, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 253.061. DIRECT EXPENDITURE OF $200 [$100] OR LESS.
Except as otherwise provided by law, an individual not acting in
concert with another person may make one or more direct campaign
expenditures in an election from the individual's own property if:
(1) the total expenditures on any one or more
candidates or measures do not exceed $200 [$100]; and
(2) the individual receives no reimbursement for the
expenditures.
SECTION 6. The heading to Section 253.062, Election Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 253.062. DIRECT EXPENDITURE EXCEEDING $200 [$100].
SECTION 7. Section 253.062(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, an individual not
acting in concert with another person may make one or more direct
campaign expenditures in an election from the individual's own
property that exceed $200 [$100] on any one or more candidates or
measures if:
(1) the individual complies with Chapter 254 as if the
individual were a campaign treasurer of a political committee; and
(2) the individual receives no reimbursement for the
expenditures.
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 from each
person that in the aggregate exceed $75 [$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;
(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 $75 [$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 $75 [$50] 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 $75 [$50] or less accepted and the total
amount or a specific listing of the political expenditures of $75
[$50] 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; and
(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.
SECTION 9. This Act applies only to a political
contribution accepted or an expenditure made from political
contributions on or after September 1, 2009. A political
contribution accepted or an expenditure made from political
contributions before September 1, 2009, is governed by the law in
effect at the time the contribution was accepted or the expenditure
was made.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.