MAD H.B. 50 75(R) BILL ANALYSIS ELECTIONS H.B. 50 By: Madden 4-1-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND According to the provisions of S.B. 94 enacted during the 74th Regular Session, there now exists a mechanism to regulate political contributions, expenditures and advertising in connection with certain judicial candidates and officeholders. Guidelines now govern personal financial statements filed by certain judicial officeholders, with attendant civil and criminal penalties. PURPOSE H.B. 50 would codify certain Texas Ethics Commission Advisory Opinions in the aftermath of S.B. 94 being enacted. Additionally, this legislation provides for further "clean up" of the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act relative to technical issues. Ethics Advisory Opinion No. 323 (May 10, 1996) states that when a judicial candidate fails to file any declaration of intent at all, they are to be treated as a non-complying candidate, and their complying opponent can then be released from the restrictions which would otherwise have been applicable. H.B. 50 would statutorily implement this Ethics Commission advisory opinion. The original language in S.B. 94 stipulated a fund raising period of 120 days after the general election if the candidate is opposed or 120 days after the primary if a candidate doesn't have an opponent in the general election, but the instance of a primary runoff race wasn't addressed. Ethics Advisory Opinion No. 335 (July 12, 1996) directs that for a candidate in a primary runoff and unopposed in the November general election, an identical 120 day window of opportunity for fund raising is applicable. Such would be implemented by H.B. 50. S.B. 94 required excess contributions from persons affiliated with law firms or donated by general purpose political committees to be returned by a candidate, but no time limit for returning contributions from other sources that exceeded the applicable limits were instituted. H.B. 50 would impose the same requirements relative to the return of excess contributions from individuals or other entities, unless specifically exempted. S.B. 94 characterizes lawyers in private practice and those affiliated with any law firm together with any law firm-affiliated general-purpose political committee as a "restricted class" of contributors. The restricted class of contributors, however, did not include the law firm itself. H.B. 50 would designate a law firm as part of this restricted class. The treatment by S.B. 94 of contributions to a specific-purpose political committee counting as a contribution to a judicial candidate or officeholder was intended to apply equally to expenditures by the same. In order to permit that corollary to be applied, the exception granted most expenditures by specific-purpose political committees in subsection (b) of section 253.169 would need to be lifted. H.B. 50 makes that revision. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1: Amends Section 253.152(4), Election Code, by inserting the language necessary to designate any judicial candidate who fails to file a declaration of compliance or intent under Sections 253.164(a)(1) or 253.164(a)(2), respectively, as a non-complying candidate. SECTION 2: Amends Section 253.153(a), Election Code, by inserting in Subsection (2) the language necessary to insure that a primary runoff candidate unopposed in the general election can engage in a 120 day fund raising period subsequent to the runoff. SECTION 3: Amends Section 253.155, Election Code, by amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (f) to require the return by a judicial candidate or officeholder of a contribution to any individual contributor if the donation exceeds the applicable limits. SECTION 4: Amends Section 253.157, Election Code, to signify inclusion of a law firm among the restricted class of contributors which are likewise treated in this section. SECTION 5: Amends Section 253.160(b), Election Code, to require the return of any excess contribution by any entity or individual, except where expressly exempted in this subsection, if the donation exceeds the applicable limits. SECTION 6: Amends Section 253.165, Election Code, by inserting the language necessary to guide others in their response to a judicial candidate who fails to file a declaration of compliance or intent under Sections 253.164(a)(1) or 253.164(a)(2), respectively. SECTION 7: Amends Section 253.169(b), Election Code, to eliminate the exception which allowed most expenditures by a specific-purpose political committee supporting a judicial candidate or officeholder to evade the rule which would equate them with expenditures by the candidate or officeholder. SECTION 8: Effective date clause with allowances made for coming into compliance with the newly enacted statutes if prior ones were in effect at the time. SECTION 9: Emergency clause.