H.B. No. 2586
AN ACT
relating to political contributions and political expenditures
made to or by political committees or other persons.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 251.001, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subdivisions (8) and (12) and adding Subdivision (21) to
read as follows:
(8) "Direct campaign expenditure" means a campaign
expenditure that does not constitute a campaign contribution by the
person making the expenditure. A campaign expenditure does not
constitute a contribution by the person making the expenditure to a
candidate or officeholder if the expenditure is made without the
prior consent or approval of the candidate or officeholder on whose
behalf the expenditure is made. A campaign expenditure made in
connection with a measure does not constitute a contribution by the
person making the expenditure if it is not made as a political
contribution to a political committee supporting or opposing the
measure.
(12) "Political committee" means two or more [a group
of] persons acting in concert with [that has as] a principal purpose
of accepting political contributions or making political
expenditures. The term does not include a group composed
exclusively of two or more individual filers or political
committees required to file reports under this title who make
reportable expenditures for a joint activity.
(21) "In-kind contribution" means a contribution of
goods, services, or any other thing of value that is not money, and
includes an agreement made or other obligation incurred, whether
legally enforceable or not, to make the contribution. The term does
not include a direct campaign expenditure.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 251, Election Code, is
amended by adding Sections 251.0015 and 251.0016 to read as
follows:
Sec. 251.0015. COMMUNICATION WITH CANDIDATE. For purposes
of Section 251.001(8), communication between a person and a
candidate, officeholder, or candidate's or officeholder's agent is
not evidence that the person obtained the candidate's or
officeholder's consent or approval for a campaign expenditure made
after the communication by the person on behalf of the candidate or
officeholder unless the communication establishes that:
(1) the expenditure is incurred at the request or
suggestion of the candidate, officeholder, or candidate's or
officeholder's agent;
(2) the candidate, officeholder, or candidate's or
officeholder's agent is materially involved in decisions regarding
the creation, production, or distribution of a campaign
communication related to the expenditure; or
(3) the candidate, officeholder, or candidate's or
officeholder's agent shares information about the candidate's or
officeholder's plans or needs that is:
(A) material to the creation, production, or
distribution of a campaign communication related to the
expenditure; and
(B) not available to the public.
Sec. 251.0016. COMMON VENDOR. A person using the same
vendor as a candidate, officeholder, or political committee
established or controlled by a candidate or officeholder is not
acting in concert with the candidate, officeholder, or committee to
make a campaign expenditure unless the person makes the expenditure
using information from the vendor about the campaign plans or needs
of the candidate, officeholder, or committee that is:
(1) material to the expenditure; and
(2) not available to the public.
SECTION 3. Section 252.003, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) In addition to the information required by Section
252.002, a campaign treasurer appointment by a general-purpose
committee must include:
(1) the full name, and any acronym of the name that
will be used in the name of the committee as provided by Subsection
(d), of each corporation, labor organization, or other association
or legal entity that directly establishes, administers, or controls
the committee, if applicable, or the name of each person who
determines to whom the committee makes contributions or the name of
each person who determines for what purposes the committee makes
expenditures;
(2) the full name and address of each general-purpose
committee to whom the committee intends to make political
contributions; [and]
(3) the name of the committee and, if the name is an
acronym, the words the acronym represents; and
(4) before the committee may use a political
contribution from a corporation or a labor organization to make a
direct campaign expenditure in connection with a campaign for an
elective office, an affidavit stating that:
(A) the committee is not established or
controlled by a candidate or an officeholder; and
(B) the committee will not use any political
contribution from a corporation or a labor organization to make a
political contribution to:
(i) a candidate for elective office;
(ii) an officeholder; or
(iii) a political committee that has not
filed an affidavit under this subdivision or Section
252.0031(a)(2).
(a-1) Filing an affidavit under Subsection (a)(4) does not
create any additional reporting requirements under Section
254.261.
SECTION 4. Section 252.0031, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to
read as follows:
(a) In addition to the information required by Section
252.002, a campaign treasurer appointment by a specific-purpose
committee for supporting or opposing a candidate for an office
specified by Section 252.005(1) must include:
(1) the name of and the office sought by the candidate;
and
(2) before the committee may use a political
contribution from a corporation or a labor organization to make a
direct campaign expenditure in connection with a campaign for an
elective office, an affidavit stating that:
(A) the committee is not established or
controlled by a candidate or an officeholder; and
(B) the committee will not use any political
contribution from a corporation or a labor organization to make a
political contribution to:
(i) a candidate for elective office;
(ii) an officeholder; or
(iii) a political committee that has not
filed an affidavit under this subdivision or Section 252.003(a)(4).
(a-1) If the [that] information required to be provided
under Subsection (a) changes, the committee shall immediately file
an amended appointment reflecting the change.
(a-2) Filing an affidavit under Subsection (a)(2) does not
create any additional reporting requirements under Section
254.261.
SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 253, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 253.097 to read as follows:
Sec. 253.097. CONTRIBUTION FROM CORPORATION OR LABOR
ORGANIZATION. A corporation or labor organization may make
campaign contributions from its own property to a political
committee that has filed an affidavit with the committee's campaign
treasurer appointment in accordance with Section 252.003(a)(4) or
252.0031(a)(2).
SECTION 6. Sections 253.100(a) and (e), Election Code, are
amended 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; or
(13) creation and maintenance of the committee's
public Internet web pages that do not contain political
advertising.
(e) Subsection (d) does not apply to a corporation or labor
organization making a campaign contribution to a political
committee under Section 253.097 or 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 7. Section 253.101, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) Subsection (a) does not prohibit a political
committee from making a political contribution or political
expenditure wholly or partly from a campaign contribution made by a
corporation or labor organization to the political committee under
Section 253.096 or 253.097.
SECTION 8. 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, other than
political contributions described by Subdivision (1-a), 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;
(1-a) the amount of political contributions from each
person that are made electronically 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 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
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;
(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 credit, interest, rebate, refund,
reimbursement, or return of a deposit fee resulting from the use of
a political contribution or an asset purchased with a political
contribution that is received during the reporting period and the
amount of which exceeds $100;
(10) any proceeds of the sale of an asset purchased
with a political contribution that is received during the reporting
period and the amount of which exceeds $100;
(11) any investment purchased with a political
contribution that is received during the reporting period and the
amount of which exceeds $100;
(12) any other gain from a political contribution that
is received during the reporting period and the amount of which
exceeds $100; and
(13) the full name and address of each person from whom
an amount described by Subdivision (9), (10), (11), or (12) is
received, the date the amount is received, and the purpose for which
the amount is received.
SECTION 9. 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.
SECTION 10. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2586 was passed by the House on May 7,
2019, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 4, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 2586 on May 23, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 2,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2586 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 19, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays
2.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor