81R26236 CAE-F
By: Smith of Tarrant H.B. No. 2525
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2525:
By: Pea C.S.H.B. No. 2525
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to political expenditures made by a corporation or labor
organization to finance the establishment and administration of a
political committee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 253.100, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e)
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.
(c) A labor organization may engage in activity authorized
for a corporation by this section [Subsections (a) and (b)]. For
purposes of this section, the members of a labor organization are
considered to be corporate stockholders.
(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;
(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 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 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 571, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 571.0941 to read as follows:
Sec. 571.0941. OPINION REGARDING CORPORATE OR LABOR
ORGANIZATION EXPENDITURE FOR GENERAL-PURPOSE COMMITTEE. In
issuing an advisory opinion determining whether a political
expenditure by a corporation or labor organization is for the
establishment or administration of a general-purpose committee as
required by Section 253.100, Election Code, the commission may
consider relevant federal election laws and opinions for guidance.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a political expenditure made under Section 253.100, Election
Code, as amended by this Act, on or after the effective date of this
Act. A political expenditure made under Section 253.100, Election
Code, before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect at the time the expenditure is made, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.