Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB246 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R977 ESH-D
2	2	By: Shapleigh S.B. No. 246
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to limits on political contributions and direct campaign
8	8	expenditures by individuals, partnerships, partners, and limited
9	9	liability companies; providing civil and criminal penalties.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Clean Elections
12	12	Act."
13	13	SECTION 2. Chapter 253, Election Code, is amended by adding
14	14	Subchapter G to read as follows:
15	15	SUBCHAPTER G. AGGREGATE LIMIT ON CONTRIBUTIONS
16	16	BY INDIVIDUAL, PARTNERSHIP, PARTNER, OR
17	17	LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY
18	18	Sec. 253.201. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
19	19	applies only to:
20	20	(1) a political contribution to a general-purpose
21	21	committee;
22	22	(2) a political contribution to a candidate for or
23	23	holder of one of the following offices:
24	24	(A) a statewide office;
25	25	(B) the office of state senator;
26	26	(C) the office of state representative;
27	27	(D) the office of member, State Board of
28	28	Education;
29	29	(E) the office of justice or chief justice, court
30	30	of appeals; or
31	31	(F) the office of district judge;
32	32	(3) a political contribution to a specific-purpose
33	33	committee for supporting or opposing a candidate for an office
34	34	described by Subdivision (2) or assisting a holder of such an
35	35	office; and
36	36	(4) as provided by Section 253.206, a direct campaign
37	37	expenditure in connection with an office described by Subdivision
38	38	(2).
39	39	Sec. 253.202. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "election
40	40	cycle" means the period beginning on January 1 of an odd-numbered
41	41	year and ending on December 31 of the following even-numbered year.
42	42	Sec. 253.203. CONTRIBUTION LIMITS. (a) An individual may
43	43	not knowingly make or authorize political contributions to which
44	44	this subchapter applies that in the aggregate exceed $100,000 in an
45	45	election cycle.
46	46	(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), an individual who is
47	47	younger than 18 years of age and who has not had the disabilities of
48	48	minority removed for general purposes may not knowingly make or
49	49	authorize political contributions to which this subchapter applies
50	50	that in the aggregate exceed $5,000 in an election cycle.
51	51	(c) A candidate, officeholder, or political committee may
52	52	not knowingly accept a political contribution that the person knows
53	53	to have been made or authorized in violation of Subsection (a) or
54	54	(b). A candidate, officeholder, or political committee that
55	55	receives a political contribution made in violation of Subsection
56	56	(a) or (b) shall return the contribution to the individual making
57	57	the contribution not later than the 10th day after the date on which
58	58	the person determines the contribution has been made in violation
59	59	of Subsection (a) or (b).
60	60	(d) A person may not knowingly aid or abet the making of a
61	61	political contribution in violation of Subsection (a) or (b).
62	62	(e) A person who violates this section commits an offense.
63	63	An offense under this subsection is a felony of the third degree.
64	64	Sec. 253.204. RECEIPT OF CONTRIBUTION INTENDED FOR ANOTHER.
65	65	For purposes of Section 253.203, a political contribution is
66	66	considered to be a contribution to a candidate, officeholder, or
67	67	political committee if the person making the contribution in any
68	68	way indicates to the person receiving the contribution that the
69	69	contribution is intended for the candidate, officeholder, or
70	70	committee. A person that receives a political contribution to which
71	71	this section applies shall:
72	72	(1) report the contribution under Chapter 254 as if
73	73	the person were a general-purpose committee;
74	74	(2) notify in writing the candidate, officeholder, or
75	75	political committee for whom the contribution is intended of the
76	76	amount of the contribution, the date it was made, and the name and
77	77	address of the person making the contribution; and
78	78	(3) not later than the 14th business day after the date
79	79	on which the person receives the contribution, deliver the
80	80	contribution to the candidate, officeholder, or political
81	81	committee for whom the contribution is intended.
82	82	Sec. 253.205. CONTRIBUTIONS BY PARTNERSHIPS, PARTNERS, AND
83	83	LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES. (a) A general or limited partnership
84	84	may not knowingly make or authorize political contributions to
85	85	which this subchapter applies that in the aggregate exceed $100,000
86	86	in an election cycle.
87	87	(b) A political contribution by a general or limited
88	88	partnership shall be attributed to the partnership and, as follows,
89	89	to each partner for purposes of the aggregate limit prescribed by
90	90	Section 253.203:
91	91	(1) in direct proportion to the partner's share of the
92	92	partnership profits, according to instructions provided by the
93	93	partnership to the candidate, officeholder, or political
94	94	committee; or
95	95	(2) by agreement of the partners, but only if:
96	96	(A) only a partner to whom the contribution is
97	97	attributed has the partner's profits reduced or losses increased;
98	98	and
99	99	(B) a partner's profits are reduced or losses are
100	100	increased in proportion to the amount of the contribution
101	101	attributed to the partner.
102	102	(c) No portion of a political contribution may be made from
103	103	the profits of a partner that is a corporation to which Subchapter D
104	104	applies.
105	105	(d) A political contribution by a limited liability company
106	106	that elects to be treated as a partnership by the Internal Revenue
107	107	Service, or that does not elect to be treated as a partnership or
108	108	corporation, is considered a contribution subject to Subsections
109	109	(a) and (b).
110	110	(e) A political contribution by a limited liability company
111	111	that elects to be treated as a corporation by the Internal Revenue
112	112	Service is considered a contribution by a corporation to which
113	113	Subchapter D applies.
114	114	Sec. 253.206. CERTAIN DIRECT CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES
115	115	CONSIDERED CONTRIBUTION TO CANDIDATE. For purposes of Section
116	116	253.203, a direct campaign expenditure is considered to be a
117	117	campaign contribution to a candidate if it is made with the
118	118	cooperation or prior consent of, in consultation with, or at the
119	119	suggestion of:
120	120	(1) the candidate;
121	121	(2) a specific-purpose committee for supporting the
122	122	candidate or opposing the candidate's opponent; or
123	123	(3) a person acting with the candidate's knowledge and
124	124	consent.
125	125	Sec. 253.207. REVIEW OF CONTRIBUTIONS BY COMMISSION. Not
126	126	later than March 1 of each odd-numbered year, the commission shall:
127	127	(1) conduct a comprehensive computer review of the
128	128	commission's records of political contributions made by
129	129	individuals during the preceding election cycle to determine if any
130	130	individual exceeded the limit prescribed by Section 253.203; and
131	131	(2) make the results of the review available to the
132	132	public.
133	133	SECTION 3. Section 254.034, Election Code, is amended by
134	134	adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
135	135	(f) This section applies to a political contribution
136	136	covered by Subchapter G, Chapter 253, except as provided by Section
137	137	253.203.
138	138	SECTION 4. Subchapter G, Chapter 253, Election Code, as
139	139	added by this Act, applies only to a political contribution or
140	140	direct campaign expenditure made on or after September 1, 2009. A
141	141	political contribution or direct campaign expenditure made before
142	142	September 1, 2009, is governed by the law in effect at the time the
143	143	contribution or expenditure was made and is not aggregated with
144	144	political contributions or direct campaign expenditures made on or
145	145	after that date.
146	146	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.