| 1 | 1 | | By: Swanson H.B. No. 551 |
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| 6 | 6 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 7 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 8 | | relating to address information contained on reports of political |
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| 9 | 9 | | contributions and expenditures made available on the Internet by |
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| 10 | 10 | | the Texas Ethics Commission. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Section 254.036, Election Code, is amended by |
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| 13 | 13 | | adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (b-1) In prescribing the format of a report filed with the |
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| 15 | 15 | | commission under Subsection (b), the commission shall ensure the |
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| 16 | 16 | | report includes a space to indicate whether the address of an |
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| 17 | 17 | | individual listed as having received a political expenditure is a |
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| 18 | 18 | | residence address. |
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| 19 | 19 | | SECTION 2. Section 254.0401, Election Code, is amended by |
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| 20 | 20 | | amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (e-1) to read as |
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| 21 | 21 | | follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (e) Before making a report filed under Section 254.036(b) |
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| 23 | 23 | | available on the Internet, the commission shall remove each |
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| 24 | 24 | | portion, other than city, state, and zip code, of: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (1) the address of a person listed as having made a |
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| 26 | 26 | | political contribution to the person filing the report; and |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2) the residence address of an individual listed as |
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| 28 | 28 | | having received a political expenditure if the individual's address |
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| 29 | 29 | | is indicated in the space described by Section 254.036(b-1) as |
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| 30 | 30 | | being a residence address. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (e-1) The address information the commission removes under |
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| 32 | 32 | | Subsection (e) [removed] must remain available on the report |
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| 33 | 33 | | maintained in the commission's office but may not be available |
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| 34 | 34 | | electronically at that office. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 36 | 36 | | a report of political contributions and expenditures under Chapter |
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| 37 | 37 | | 254, Election Code, that is required to be filed on or after January |
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| 38 | 38 | | 1, 2026. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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