Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2691 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R9238 CJD-D
2	2	By: Harrison H.B. No. 2691
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6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to prohibitions on lobbyists making certain expenditures
10	10	and gifts to public servants.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 36.10(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
13	13	as follows:
14	14	(a) Sections 36.08 (Gift to Public Servant) and 36.09
15	15	(Offering Gift to Public Servant) do not apply to:
16	16	(1) a fee prescribed by law to be received by a public
17	17	servant or any other benefit to which the public servant is lawfully
18	18	entitled or for which he gives legitimate consideration in a
19	19	capacity other than as a public servant;
20	20	(2) a gift or other benefit conferred on account of
21	21	kinship or a personal, professional, or business relationship
22	22	independent of the official status of the recipient;
23	23	(3) a benefit to a public servant required to file a
24	24	statement under Chapter 572, Government Code, or a report under
25	25	Title 15, Election Code, that is derived from a function in honor or
26	26	appreciation of the recipient if:
27	27	(A) the benefit and the source of any benefit in
28	28	excess of $50 is reported in the statement; and
29	29	(B) the benefit is used solely to defray the
30	30	expenses that accrue in the performance of duties or activities in
31	31	connection with the office which are nonreimbursable by the state
32	32	or political subdivision;
33	33	(4) a political contribution as defined by Title 15,
34	34	Election Code;
35	35	(5) [a gift, award, or memento to a member of the
36	36	legislative or executive branch that is required to be reported
37	37	under Chapter 305, Government Code;
38	38	[(6)] an item with a value of less than $50, excluding
39	39	cash or a negotiable instrument as described by Section 3.104,
40	40	Business & Commerce Code;
41	41	(6) [(7)] an item issued by a governmental entity that
42	42	allows the use of property or facilities owned, leased, or operated
43	43	by the governmental entity;
44	44	(7) [(8)] transportation, lodging, and meals
45	45	described by Section 36.07(b); or
46	46	(8) [(9)] complimentary legal advice or legal
47	47	services relating to a will, power of attorney, advance directive,
48	48	or other estate planning document rendered:
49	49	(A) to a public servant who is a first responder;
50	50	and
51	51	(B) through a program or clinic that is:
52	52	(i) operated by a local bar association or
53	53	the State Bar of Texas; and
54	54	(ii) approved by the head of the agency
55	55	employing the public servant, if the public servant is employed by
56	56	an agency.
57	57	SECTION 2. Section 305.024(a), Government Code, as amended
58	58	by Chapters 92 (S.B. 1011) and 206 (H.B. 1508), Acts of the 79th
59	59	Legislature, Regular Session, 2005, is reenacted and amended to
60	60	read as follows:
61	61	(a) Except as provided by Section 305.025, a person
62	62	registered under Section 305.005 or a person on the registrant's
63	63	behalf and with the registrant's consent or ratification may not
64	64	offer, confer, or agree to confer:
65	65	(1) to an individual described by Section
66	66	305.0062(a)(1), (2), (3), (4), or (5):
67	67	(A) a loan, including the guarantee or
68	68	endorsement of a loan; or
69	69	(B) a gift of cash or a negotiable instrument as
70	70	described by Section 3.104, Business & Commerce Code; or
71	71	(2) to an individual described by Section
72	72	305.0062(a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7):
73	73	(A) an expenditure for transportation and
74	74	lodging;
75	75	(B) a [an expenditure or] series of expenditures
76	76	for entertainment that in the aggregate exceed $500 in a calendar
77	77	year;
78	78	(C) a [an expenditure or] series of expenditures
79	79	for gifts that in the aggregate exceed $500 in a calendar year;
80	80	(D) an expenditure for an award or memento that
81	81	exceeds $50 [$500]; or
82	82	(E) an expenditure described by Section
83	83	305.006(b)(2) [305.006(b)(1), (2), (3),] or (6), unless[:
84	84	[(A)] the expenditure does not exceed $50
85	85	[registrant is present at the event; or
86	86	[(B) the expenditure is for a gift of food
87	87	or beverages required to be reported under Section 305.006(b)(4) in
88	88	accordance with Section 305.0061(e-1)].
89	89	SECTION 3. Section 571.064(b), Government Code, is amended
90	90	to read as follows:
91	91	(b) If a law, other than a law providing an expenditure
92	92	limit for a person required to register under Chapter 305,
93	93	administered and enforced by the commission sets dollar amounts or
94	94	categories of amounts as reporting thresholds or if the commission
95	95	sets those amounts, the commission annually shall adjust those
96	96	thresholds upward to the nearest multiple of $10 in accordance with
97	97	the percentage increase for the previous year in the Consumer Price
98	98	Index for Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor
99	99	Statistics of the United States Department of Labor.
100	100	SECTION 4. Section 36.10, Penal Code, as amended by this
101	101	Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective
102	102	date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of
103	103	this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
104	104	committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
105	105	purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed
106	106	before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
107	107	occurred before that date.
108	108	SECTION 5. Section 305.024, Government Code, as amended by
109	109	this Act, applies only to an expenditure made on or after the
110	110	effective date of this Act. An expenditure made before the
111	111	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
112	112	date the expenditure was made, and the former law is continued in
113	113	effect for that purpose.
114	114	SECTION 6. Section 571.064(b), Government Code, as amended
115	115	by this Act, applies to an adjustment made by the Texas Ethics
116	116	Commission under that subsection before the effective date of this
117	117	Act. The commission shall adopt rules as necessary to reverse each
118	118	adjustment made under that subsection before the effective date of
119	119	this Act that would not have been made if the change in law made by
120	120	this Act had been in effect at the time of the adjustment.
121	121	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.