By: Estes S.B. No. 1224
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to contributions made and personal services rendered to
public servants.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 251.001, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (2) 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[.]; or
(C) an individual's personal service if the
individual receives no compensation for the service.
SECTION 2. Section 253.159, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 253.159. EXCEPTION TO CONTRIBUTION LIMITS. Sections
253.155 and 253.157 do not apply to an individual who is related to
the candidate or officeholder within the second degree by affinity
or consanguinity, as determined under Subchapter B, Chapter 573,
Government Code.
SECTION 3. Section 253.162, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) to read as follows:
(b) A judicial candidate or officeholder who accepts one or
more political contributions in the form of loans, including an
extension of credit or a guarantee of a loan or extension of credit,
from one or more persons related to the candidate or officeholder
within the second degree by affinity or consanguinity, as
determined under Subchapter B, Chapter 573, Government Code, may
not use political contributions to repay the loans.
SECTION 4. Section 254.031, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) 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 $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 $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[.]; and
(9) the amount of political contributions in the form
of cash and negotiable instruments that has not been deposited in an
account in which political contributions are deposited.
SECTION 5. Section 254.0611, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) to read as follows:
(a) In addition to the contents required by Sections 254.031
and 254.061, each report by a candidate for a judicial office
covered by Subchapter F, Chapter 253, must include:
(1) the total amount of political contributions,
including interest or other income, maintained in one or more
accounts in which political contributions are deposited as of the
last day of the reporting period;
(2) for each individual from whom the person filing
the report has accepted political contributions that in the
aggregate exceed $50 and that are accepted during the reporting
period:
(A) the principal occupation and job title of the
individual and the full name of the employer of the individual or of
the law firm of which the individual or the individual's spouse is a
member, if any; or
(B) if the individual is a child, the full name of
the law firm of which either of the individual's parents is a
member, if any;
(3) a specific listing of each asset valued at $500 or
more that was purchased with political contributions and on hand as
of the last day of the reporting period;
(4) for each political contribution accepted by the
person filing the report but not received as of the last day of the
reporting period:
(A) the full name and address of the person
making the contribution;
(B) the amount of the contribution; and
(C) the date of the contribution;[ and]
(5) for each outstanding loan to the person filing the
report as of the last day of the reporting period:
(A) the full name and address of the person or
financial institution making the loan; and
(B) the full name and address of each guarantor
of the loan other than the candidate[.]; and
(6) the amount of political contributions in the form
of cash and negotiable instruments that has not been deposited in an
account in which political contributions are deposited.
SECTION 6. Section 36.10, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) to read as follows:
(a) Sections 36.08 (Gift to Public Servant) and 36.09
(Offering Gift to Public Servant) do not apply to:
(1) a fee prescribed by law to be received by a public
servant or any other benefit to which the public servant is lawfully
entitled or for which he gives legitimate consideration in a
capacity other than as a public servant;
(2) a gift or other benefit conferred on account of
kinship or a personal, professional, or business relationship
independent of the official status of the recipient; or
(3) a benefit to a public servant required to file a
statement under Chapter 572, Government Code, or a report under
Title 15, Election Code, that is derived from a function in honor or
appreciation of the recipient if:
(A) the benefit and the source of any benefit in
excess of $50 is reported in the statement; and
(B) the benefit is used solely to defray the
expenses that accrue in the performance of duties or activities in
connection with the office which are nonreimbursable by the state
or political subdivision;
(4) a political contribution as defined by Title 15,
Election Code;
(5) a gift, award, or memento to a member of the
legislative or executive branch that is required to be reported
under Chapter 305, Government Code;
(6) an item with a value of less than $50, excluding
cash or a negotiable instrument as described by Section 3.104,
Business & Commerce Code;[ or]
(7) an item issued by a governmental entity that
allows the use of property or facilities owned, leased, or operated
by the governmental entity[.]; or
(8) an individual's personal service if the individual
receives no compensation for the service.
SECTION 7. Section 572.023, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) to read as follows:
(b) The account of financial activity consists of:
(1) a list of all sources of occupational income,
identified by employer, or if self-employed, by the nature of the
occupation, including identification of a person or other
organization from which the individual or a business in which the
individual has a substantial interest received a fee as a retainer
for a claim on future services in case of need, as distinguished
from a fee for services on a matter specified at the time of
contracting for or receiving the fee, if professional or
occupational services are not actually performed during the
reporting period equal to or in excess of the amount of the
retainer, and the category of the amount of the fee;
(2) identification by name and the category of the
number of shares of stock of any business entity held or acquired,
and if sold, the category of the amount of net gain or loss realized
from the sale;
(3) a list of all bonds, notes, and other commercial
paper held or acquired, and if sold, the category of the amount of
net gain or loss realized from the sale;
(4) identification of each source and the category of
the amount of income in excess of $500 derived from each source from
interest, dividends, royalties, and rents;
(5) identification of each guarantor of a loan and
identification of each person or financial institution to whom a
personal note or notes or lease agreement for a total financial
liability in excess of $1,000 existed at any time during the year
and the category of the amount of the liability;
(6) identification by description of all beneficial
interests in real property and business entities held or acquired,
and if sold, the category of the amount of the net gain or loss
realized from the sale;
(7) identification of a person or other organization
from which the individual or the individual's spouse or dependent
children received a gift of anything of value in excess of $250 and
a description of each gift, except:
(A) a gift received from an individual related to
the individual at any time within the second degree by
consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Subchapter B,
Chapter 573;
(B) a political contribution that was reported as
required by Chapter 254, Election Code;[ and]
(C) an expenditure required to be reported by a
person required to be registered under Chapter 305; and
(D) an individual's personal service if the
individual receives no compensation for the service;
(8) identification of the source and the category of
the amount of all income received as beneficiary of a trust, other
than a blind trust that complies with Subsection (c), and
identification of each trust asset, if known to the beneficiary,
from which income was received by the beneficiary in excess of $500;
(9) identification by description and the category of
the amount of all assets and liabilities of a corporation, firm,
partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership,
professional corporation, professional association, joint venture,
or other business association in which 50 percent or more of the
outstanding ownership was held, acquired, or sold;
(10) a list of all boards of directors of which the
individual is a member and executive positions that the individual
holds in corporations, firms, partnerships, limited partnerships,
limited liability partnerships, professional corporations,
professional associations, joint ventures, or other business
associations or proprietorships, stating the name of each
corporation, firm, partnership, limited partnership, limited
liability partnership, professional corporation, professional
association, joint venture, or other business association or
proprietorship and the position held;
(11) identification of any person providing
transportation, meals, or lodging expenses permitted under Section
36.07(b), Penal Code, and the amount of those expenses, other than
expenditures required to be reported under Chapter 305;
(12) any corporation, firm, partnership, limited
partnership, limited liability partnership, professional
corporation, professional association, joint venture, or other
business association, excluding a publicly held corporation, in
which both the individual and a person registered under Chapter 305
have an interest;
(13) identification by name and the category of the
number of shares of any mutual fund held or acquired, and if sold,
the category of the amount of net gain or loss realized from the
sale; and
(14) identification of each blind trust that complies
with Subsection (c), including:
(A) the category of the fair market value of the
trust;
(B) the date the trust was created;
(C) the name and address of the trustee; and
(D) a statement signed by the trustee, under
penalty of perjury, stating that:
(i) the trustee has not revealed any
information to the individual, except information that may be
disclosed under Subdivision (8); and
(ii) to the best of the trustee's knowledge,
the trust complies with this section.
SECTION 8. 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, 2011.