By Black, Berlanga, Craddick, Gallego, et al. H.B. No. 2
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to restrictions on contributions to legislative caucuses
1-3 during regular sessions of the legislature and to reporting
1-4 requirements concerning caucus contributions and expenditures;
1-5 providing penalties.
1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-7 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 253, Election Code, is
1-8 amended by adding Section 253.0341 to read as follows:
1-9 Sec. 253.0341. RESTRICTIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS TO LEGISLATIVE
1-10 CAUCUSES DURING REGULAR LEGISLATIVE SESSION. (a) During the
1-11 period beginning on the 30th day before the date a regular
1-12 legislative session convenes and continuing through the day of
1-13 final adjournment, a person not a member of the caucus may not
1-14 knowingly make a contribution to a legislative caucus.
1-15 (b) A legislative caucus may not knowingly accept from a
1-16 nonmember a contribution, and shall refuse a contribution from a
1-17 nonmember that is received, during the period prescribed by
1-18 Subsection (a). A contribution that is received and refused during
1-19 that period shall be returned to the contributor not later than the
1-20 30th day after the date of receipt. A contribution made by mail is
1-21 not considered received during that period if it was placed with
1-22 postage prepaid and properly addressed in the United States mail
1-23 before the beginning of the period. The date indicated by the post
1-24 office cancellation mark is considered to be the date the
2-1 contribution was placed in the mail unless proven otherwise.
2-2 (c) A person who violates this section commits an offense.
2-3 An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
2-4 (d) A person who knowingly makes or accepts a contribution
2-5 in violation of this section is liable for damages to the state in
2-6 the amount of triple the value of the unlawful contribution.
2-7 (e) In this section, "legislative caucus" means an
2-8 organization that is composed exclusively of members of the
2-9 legislature, that elects or appoints officers and recognizes
2-10 identified legislators as members of the organization, and that
2-11 exists for research and other support of policy development and
2-12 interests that the membership hold in common. An organization
2-13 whose only nonlegislator members are the lieutenant governor or the
2-14 governor remains a "legislative caucus" for purposes of this
2-15 section.
2-16 SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 254, Election Code, is
2-17 amended by adding Section 254.0311 to read as follows:
2-18 Sec. 254.0311. REPORT BY LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS. (a) A
2-19 legislative caucus shall file a report of contributions and
2-20 expenditures as required by this section.
2-21 (b) A report filed under this section must include:
2-22 (1) the amount of contributions from each person,
2-23 other than a caucus member, that in the aggregate exceed $50 and
2-24 that are accepted during the reporting period by the legislative
2-25 caucus, the full name and address of the person making the
2-26 contributions, and the dates of the contributions;
2-27 (2) the amount of loans that are made during the
3-1 reporting period to the legislative caucus and that in the
3-2 aggregate exceed $50, the dates the loans are made, the interest
3-3 rate, the maturity date, the type of collateral for the loans, if
3-4 any, the full name and address of the person or financial
3-5 institution making the loans, the full name and address, principal
3-6 occupation, and name of the employer of each guarantor of the
3-7 loans, the amount of the loans guaranteed by each guarantor, and
3-8 the aggregate principal amount of all outstanding loans as of the
3-9 last day of the reporting period;
3-10 (3) the amount of expenditures that in the aggregate
3-11 exceed $50 and that are made during the reporting period, the full
3-12 name and address of the persons to whom the expenditures are made,
3-13 and the dates and purposes of the expenditures;
3-14 (4) the total amount or a specific listing of
3-15 contributions of $50 or less accepted from persons other than
3-16 caucus members and the total amount or a specific listing of
3-17 expenditures of $50 or less made during the reporting period; and
3-18 (5) the total amount of all contributions accepted,
3-19 including total contributions from caucus members, and the total
3-20 amount of all expenditures made during the reporting period.
3-21 (c) If no reportable activity occurs during a reporting
3-22 period, the legislative caucus shall indicate that fact in the
3-23 report.
3-24 (d) A legislative caucus shall file with the commission two
3-25 reports for each year.
3-26 (e) The first report shall be filed not later than July 15.
3-27 The report covers the period beginning January 1 or the day the
4-1 legislative caucus is organized, as applicable, and continuing
4-2 through June 30.
4-3 (f) The second report shall be filed not later than January
4-4 15. The report covers the period beginning July 1 or the day the
4-5 legislative caucus is organized, as applicable, and continuing
4-6 through December 31.
4-7 (g) A legislative caucus shall maintain a record of all
4-8 reportable activity under this section and shall preserve the
4-9 record for at least two years beginning on the filing deadline for
4-10 the report containing the information in the record.
4-11 (h) In this section, "legislative caucus" has the meaning
4-12 assigned by Section 253.0341.
4-13 SECTION 3. Section 254.036, Election Code, is amended by
4-14 adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
4-15 (d) The commission shall prescribe forms for purposes of
4-16 legislative caucus reports under Section 254.0311 that are separate
4-17 and distinct from forms for other reports under this chapter.
4-18 SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 251, Election Code, is
4-19 amended by adding Section 251.009 to read as follows:
4-20 Sec. 251.009. LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS CONTRIBUTION OR EXPENDITURE
4-21 NOT CONSIDERED TO BE OFFICEHOLDER CONTRIBUTION OR EXPENDITURE. A
4-22 contribution to or expenditure by a legislative caucus, as defined
4-23 by Section 253.0341, is not considered to be an officeholder
4-24 contribution or officeholder expenditure for purposes of this
4-25 title.
4-26 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
4-27 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-1 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-2 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-3 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-4 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
5-5 passage, and it is so enacted.