Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2525 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.B. No. 2525
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to political expenditures made by a corporation or labor
6	6	organization to finance the establishment and administration of a
7	7	political committee.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 253.100, Election Code, is amended by
10	10	amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e)
11	11	to read as follows:
12	12	(a) A corporation, acting alone or with one or more other
13	13	corporations, may make one or more political expenditures to
14	14	finance the establishment or administration of a general-purpose
15	15	committee. In addition to any other expenditure that is considered
16	16	permissible under this section, a corporation may make an
17	17	expenditure for the maintenance and operation of a general-purpose
18	18	committee, including an expenditure for:
19	19	(1) office space maintenance and repairs;
20	20	(2) telephone and Internet services;
21	21	(3) office equipment;
22	22	(4) utilities;
23	23	(5) general office and meeting supplies;
24	24	(6) salaries for routine clerical, data entry, and
25	25	administrative assistance necessary for the proper administrative
26	26	operation of the committee;
27	27	(7) legal and accounting fees for the committee's
28	28	compliance with this title;
29	29	(8) routine administrative expenses incurred in
30	30	establishing and administering a general-purpose political
31	31	committee;
32	32	(9) management and supervision of the committee,
33	33	including expenses incurred in holding meetings of the committee's
34	34	governing body to interview candidates and make endorsements
35	35	relating to the committee's support;
36	36	(10) the recording of committee decisions;
37	37	(11) expenses incurred in hosting candidate forums in
38	38	which all candidates for a particular office in an election are
39	39	invited to participate on the same terms; or
40	40	(12) expenses incurred in preparing and delivering
41	41	committee contributions.
42	42	(c) A labor organization may engage in activity authorized
43	43	for a corporation by this section [Subsections (a) and (b)]. For
44	44	purposes of this section, the members of a labor organization are
45	45	considered to be corporate stockholders.
46	46	(d) A corporation or labor organization may not make
47	47	expenditures under this section for:
48	48	(1) political consulting to support or oppose a
49	49	candidate;
50	50	(2) telephoning or telephone banks to communicate with
51	51	the public;
52	52	(3) brochures and direct mail supporting or opposing a
53	53	candidate;
54	54	(4) partisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote
55	55	drives;
56	56	(5) political fund-raising other than from its
57	57	stockholders or members, as applicable, or the families of its
58	58	stockholders or members;
59	59	(6) voter identification efforts, voter lists, or
60	60	voter databases that include persons other than its stockholders or
61	61	members, as applicable, or the families of its stockholders or
62	62	members;
63	63	(7) polling designed to support or oppose a candidate
64	64	other than of its stockholders or members, as applicable, or the
65	65	families of its stockholders or members; or
66	66	(8) recruiting candidates.
67	67	(e) Subsection (d) does not apply to a corporation or labor
68	68	organization making an expenditure to communicate with its
69	69	stockholders or members, as applicable, or with the families of its
70	70	stockholders or members as provided by Section 253.098.
71	71	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
72	72	to a political expenditure made under Section 253.100, Election
73	73	Code, as amended by this Act, on or after the effective date of this
74	74	Act. A political expenditure made under Section 253.100, Election
75	75	Code, before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
76	76	in effect at the time the expenditure is made, and the former law is
77	77	continued in effect for that purpose.
78	78	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
79	79	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
80	80	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
81	81	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
82	82	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
83	83	______________________________ ______________________________
84	84	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
85	85	I certify that H.B. No. 2525 was passed by the House on May
86	86	15, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 132, Nays 12, 1 present, not
87	87	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
88	88	No. 2525 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 125, Nays 16,
89	89	2 present, not voting.
90	90	______________________________
91	91	Chief Clerk of the House
92	92	I certify that H.B. No. 2525 was passed by the Senate, with
93	93	amendments, on May 27, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays
94	94	6.
95	95	______________________________
96	96	Secretary of the Senate
97	97	APPROVED: __________________
98	98	Date
99	99	__________________
100	100	Governor