By: Zwiener H.B. No. 5182
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to civil penalties imposed by the Texas Ethics Commission,
including the collection of and eligibility for public elective
office of persons liable for those penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 141.001(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or
appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:
(1) be a United States citizen;
(2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the
term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as
applicable;
(3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a
court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the
right to vote;
(4) have not been finally convicted of a felony from
which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from
the resulting disabilities;
(5) have resided continuously in the state for 12
months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six
months immediately preceding the following date:
(A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a
general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing
deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;
(B) for an independent candidate, the date of the
regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place
on the ballot;
(C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the
election at which the candidate's name is written in;
(D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any
method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is
made; and
(E) for an appointee to an office, the date the
appointment is made;
(6) on the date described by Subdivision (5), be
registered to vote in the territory from which the office is
elected; [and]
(7) satisfy any other eligibility requirements
prescribed by law for the office; and
(8) have paid in full any civil penalty or fine the
Texas Ethics Commission has imposed:
(A) prior to the first date of the regular filing
period for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot if
the office is to be filled by an election; or
(B) prior to the date of appointment if the
office is to be filled by an appointment.
SECTION 2. Section 253.035, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) The prohibitions prescribed by Subsections (a) and
(b) include the personal use of a political contribution to pay a
civil penalty or fine the commission imposes.
SECTION 3. Section 254.042(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) If a report other than a report under Section
254.064(c), 254.124(c), or 254.154(c) or the first report under
Section 254.063 or 254.123 that is required to be filed following
the primary or general election is determined to be late, the person
required to file the report is liable to the state for a civil
penalty of $1,001 [$500]. If a report under Section 254.064(c),
254.124(c), or 254.154(c) or the first report under Section 254.063
or 254.153 that is required to be filed following the primary or
general election is determined to be late, the person required to
file the report is liable to the state for a civil penalty of $1,001
[$500] for the first day the report is late and $100 for each day
thereafter that the report is late. If a report is more than 30 days
late, the commission shall issue a warning of liability by
registered mail to the person required to file the report. If the
penalty is not paid before the 10th day after the date on which the
warning is received, the person is liable for a civil penalty in an
amount determined by commission rule, but not to exceed $10,000.
SECTION 4. Section 402.0212, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) This section does not apply to the Texas Ethics
Commission.
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. USE OF APPROPRIATED MONEY TO RETAIN OUTSIDE
COUNSEL. Notwithstanding any other law, the commission:
(1) may use appropriated money to contract with
outside legal counsel for the purpose of collecting a civil penalty
the commission imposes; and
(2) is not required to request or obtain approval from
the attorney general before contracting with outside legal counsel
under Subdivision (1).
Sec. 571.081. DEPOSIT OF CIVIL PENALTIES TO GENERAL REVENUE
FUND. (a) The comptroller shall deposit to the credit of the
general revenue fund the proceeds from a civil penalty collected
for a violation of a law the commission administers and enforces and
that is not paid voluntarily.
(b) Money the comptroller deposits to the credit of the
general revenue fund under this section may only be appropriated to
the commission for the purpose of collecting civil penalties for a
violation of a law the commission administers and enforces.
SECTION 6. Section 2107.003, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (d), (e), (g), (h), and (i) and adding
Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), [or] (c-1), (k),
or (l), a state agency shall refer an uncollected and delinquent
obligation that meets the referral guidelines established by the
attorney general to the attorney general for further collection
efforts. The state agency must refer the obligation on or before the
90th day after the date the obligation becomes past due or
delinquent.
(d) The agency contracting under Subsection (b), [or] (c),
(k), or (l) is entitled to recover from the obligor, in addition to
the amount of the obligation, reasonable costs incurred in
undertaking the collection, including the costs of a contract under
this section, in an amount not to exceed 30 percent of the total
amount of the obligation.
(e) A person awarded a contract under Subsection (b), (c),
[or] (c-1), (k), or (l) may not file suit or otherwise pursue
judicial action to collect the obligation owed in a court of this
state or another state on behalf of the contracting state agency.
(g) The contracting state agency may provide a person
contracting under Subsection (b), (c), [or] (c-1), (k), or (l) any
information, including confidential information, that the agency
is not prohibited from sharing with another state or with the United
States and that is:
(1) in the custody of the agency owed the obligation;
and
(2) necessary to the collection of the obligation.
(h) A person acting under a contract formed under Subsection
(b), (c), [or] (c-1), (k), or (l) and each employee or agent of that
person is subject to all statutory prohibitions against the
wrongful disclosure of confidential information that the
contracting state agency and its employees are subject to. A
contractor's employee is subject to the same penalties for wrongful
disclosure of confidential information as would apply to the
employees of the contracting agency.
(i) The contracting agency shall require a person who
contracts under Subsection (b), (c), [or] (c-1), (k), or (l) to
obtain and maintain insurance adequate to provide reasonable
coverage for damages negligently, recklessly, or intentionally
caused by the contractor or the contractor's employee or agent in
the course of collecting an obligation under the contract.
(k) The Texas Ethics Commission may employ, retain, or
contract with a person other than a full-time state employee to
collect delinquent obligations owed to the commission in the
commission's official capacity. The commission may use money
appropriated to the commission for the purpose of enforcing laws
administered and enforced by the commission to employ, retain, or
contract with a person under this subsection. A person contracted
under this subsection is entitled to a collection fee, as provided
under the contract, in an amount not to exceed 30 percent of the
full amount of the obligation collected.
(l) The Texas Ethics Commission may contract with one or
more persons to collect delinquent obligations that have been
referred to the attorney general if the attorney general has
returned the matter to the commission after exhausting all
reasonable efforts or has not taken action to collect the
obligation before the sixth month after the date the attorney
general received the referral. A person contracted under this
subsection is entitled to a collection fee equal to 30 percent of
the full amount of the obligation collected.
SECTION 7. Section 254.042, Election Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to a report that is required to be filed
under Chapter 254, Election Code, on or after the effective date of
this Act. A report under that chapter 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 was required to be filed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.