By: Geren, Flynn, King of Parker H.B. No. 1616
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the reporting or providing of information, including
information relating to political contributions, political
expenditures, and personal financial information, by public
servants, political candidates and committees, and persons
required to register under the lobby registration law, and to
complaints filed with and the functions of the Texas Ethics
Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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 $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 $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 $100 [$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 $50 or less accepted and the total
amount or a specific listing of the political expenditures of $100
[$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;
(9) any of the following received during the reporting
period resulting from the use of a political contribution or an
asset purchased with a political contribution the amount of which
exceeds $100:
(A) credit;
(B) interest;
(C) rebate;
(D) refund;
(E) reimbursement; or
(F) return of a deposit fee;
(10) any proceeds of the sale of an asset received
during the reporting period the amount of which exceeds $100;
(11) any investment purchased with a political
contribution received during the reporting period the amount of
which exceeds $100;
(12) any other gain from a political contribution
received during the reporting period the amount of which exceeds
$100; and
(13) the full name and address of each person from whom
an amount described by Subdivisions (9), (10), (11), or (12) is
received, the date the amount is received, and the purpose for which
the amount is received.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 254, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 254.0405 to read as follows:
Sec. 254.0405. AMENDMENT OF FILED REPORT. (a) A person who
files a semiannual report under this chapter may amend the report.
(b) A semiannual report that is amended before the eighth
day after the date the original report was filed is considered to
have been filed on the date on which the original report was filed.
(c) A semiannual report that is amended on or after the
eighth day after the original report was filed is considered to have
been filed on the date on which the original report was filed if:
(1) the amendment is made before any complaint is
filed with regard to the subject of the amendment; and
(2) the original report was made in good faith and
without an intent to mislead or to misrepresent the information
contained in the report.
SECTION 3. Section 254.041, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) It is an exception to the application of Subsection
(a)(3) that:
(1) the information was required to be included in a
semiannual report; and
(2) the person amended the report within the time
prescribed by Section 254.0405(b) or under the circumstances
described by Section 254.0405(c).
SECTION 4. Section 305.005, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (l) to read as follows:
(l) The registration form must include the full name and
address of each person who compensates or reimburses the registrant
or person acting as an agent for the registrant for services,
including political consulting services, rendered by the
registrant from:
(1) a political contribution as defined by Title 15,
Election Code;
(2) interest received from a political contribution as
defined by Title 15, Election Code; or
(3) an asset purchased with a political contribution
as defined by Title 15, Election Code.
SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 571, Government Code, is
amended by adding Sections 571.080 and 571.081 to read as follows:
Sec. 571.080. ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN FILERS. The
commission, using existing resources, must provide a service that
enables a candidate or officeholder required to file a report with
the commission under Section 254.063, 254.064, or 254.093, Election
Code, to speak to commission staff to assist the person in preparing
and filing the report. This service must be available beginning at
8 a.m. on the date of a deadline for filing a report with the
commission and ending at the deadline for filing the report.
Sec. 571.081. AVAILABILITY OF DIRECT TELEPHONE NUMBER OF
COMMISSION STAFF TO CERTAIN FILERS. An employee of the commission
shall on request provide the employee's direct telephone number to
a candidate or officeholder required to file a report with the
commission.
SECTION 6. Section 571.122, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) It is not a valid basis of a complaint to allege that a
report required under Chapter 254, Election Code, contains the
improper name or address of a person from whom a political
contribution was received if the name or address in the report is
the same as the name or address that appears on the check for the
political contribution.
SECTION 7. Subchapter E, Chapter 571, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 571.1222 to read as follows:
Sec. 571.1222. DISMISSAL OF COMPLAINT CHALLENGING CERTAIN
INFORMATION IN POLITICAL REPORT. At any stage of a proceeding under
this subchapter, the commission shall dismiss a complaint alleging
that a report required under Chapter 254, Election Code, contains
the improper name or address of a person from whom a political
contribution was received if the name or address in the report is
the same as the name or address that appears on the check for the
political contribution.
SECTION 8. Section 571.123(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) After a complaint is filed, the commission shall
immediately attempt to contact and notify the respondent of the
complaint by telephone or electronic mail. Not later than the
fifth business day after the date a complaint is filed, the
commission shall send written notice to the complainant and the
respondent. The written notice to the complainant and the
respondent must:
(1) state whether the complaint complies with the form
requirements of Section 571.122;
(2) if the respondent is a candidate or officeholder,
state the procedure by which the respondent may designate an agent
with whom commission staff may discuss the complaint;
(3) if the respondent is a candidate or officeholder,
state that the respondent may request the direct telephone number
of the commission staff member who will perform the processing of
the complaint against the respondent; and
(4) [(2)] if applicable, include the information
required by Section 571.124(e).
SECTION 9. Subchapter E, Chapter 571, Government Code, is
amended by adding Sections 571.1231 and 571.1232 to read as
follows:
Sec. 571.1231. DESIGNATION OF AGENT BY CERTAIN RESPONDENTS.
(a) This section applies only to a respondent who is a candidate or
officeholder.
(b) A respondent to a complaint filed against the respondent
may by writing submitted to the commission designate an agent with
whom the commission staff may communicate regarding the complaint.
(c) For purposes of this subchapter, including Section
571.140, communications with the respondent's agent designated
under this section are considered communications with the
respondent.
Sec. 571.1232. PROVISION OF TELEPHONE NUMBER TO CERTAIN
RESPONDENTS. (a) This section applies only to a respondent who is
a candidate or officeholder.
(b) On request, the commission shall provide to a respondent
the direct telephone number of the commission staff member who will
perform the processing of the complaint against the respondent.
SECTION 10. Section 145.003, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a [A] municipal
officer or a candidate for a municipal office filled by election
shall file a financial statement as required by this chapter.
(c) A municipal officer who does not receive compensation
for serving as an officer or a candidate for such an office is not
required to file a financial statement under this chapter.
SECTION 11. Section 159.003(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The statement must:
(1) be filed with the county clerk of the county in
which the officer, justice, or candidate resides; and
(2) comply with Sections 572.022 and 572.023,
Government Code, and with the requirements set forth by any
commissioners court order requiring additional disclosures.
SECTION 12. Section 11.064, Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 13. Section 159.034(c), Local Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 14. Section 335.1085, Local Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 15. (a) Section 254.031(a), Election Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to a report under Chapter 254,
Election Code, that is required to be filed on or after the
effective date of this Act. A report under Chapter 254, Election
Code, that is required to be filed before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the report is
required to be filed, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
(b) Section 305.005(l), Government Code, as added by this
Act, applies only to compensation or reimbursement received by a
registrant under Chapter 305, Government Code, on or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 16. The change in law made by this Act to Section
254.041, Election Code, applies only to an offense committed on or
after the effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section,
an offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any
element of the offense occurs before the effective date. An offense
committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by the
law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 17. (a) Section 145.003, Local Government Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to the filing by a municipal
officer or candidate of a financial statement that covers the 2011
or a later calendar year. The filing by a municipal officer or
candidate of a financial statement that covers the 2010 calendar
year is governed by the law in effect on January 1, 2011, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) The repeal by this Act of Section 11.064, Education
Code, applies only to the filing by a school district trustee of a
financial statement that covers the 2011 or a later calendar year.
The filing by a school district trustee of a financial statement
that covers the 2010 calendar year is governed by the law in effect
on January 1, 2011, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
(c) The repeal by this Act of Section 335.1085, Local
Government Code, applies only to the filing by a director of a venue
district of a financial statement that covers the 2011 or a later
calendar year. The filing by a director of a venue district of a
financial statement that covers the 2010 calendar year is governed
by the law in effect on January 1, 2011, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 18. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.