By Zbranek H.B. No. 1374
75R382 ESH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to political contributions from one general-purpose
1-3 committee to another.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 253.037(b), Election Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 (b) A general-purpose committee may not knowingly make a
1-8 political contribution to another general-purpose committee. A
1-9 general-purpose committee may not knowingly accept a political
1-10 contribution from another general-purpose committee [unless the
1-11 other committee is listed in the campaign treasurer appointment of
1-12 the contributor committee].
1-13 SECTION 2. Section 252.003(a), Election Code, is amended to
1-14 read as follows:
1-15 (a) In addition to the information required by Section
1-16 252.002, a campaign treasurer appointment by a general-purpose
1-17 committee must include:
1-18 (1) the full name, and any acronym of the name that
1-19 will be used in the name of the committee as provided by Subsection
1-20 (d), of each corporation, labor organization, or other association
1-21 or legal entity that directly establishes, administers, or controls
1-22 the committee, if applicable, or the name of each person who
1-23 determines to whom the committee makes contributions or the name of
1-24 each person who determines for what purposes the committee makes
2-1 expenditures; and
2-2 (2) [the full name and address of each general-purpose
2-3 committee to whom the committee intends to make political
2-4 contributions; and]
2-5 [(3)] the name of the committee and, if the name is an
2-6 acronym, the words the acronym represents.
2-7 SECTION 3. Sections 254.151 and 254.152, Election Code, are
2-8 amended to read as follows:
2-9 Sec. 254.151. Additional Contents of Reports. In addition
2-10 to the contents required by Section 254.031, each report by a
2-11 campaign treasurer of a general-purpose committee must include:
2-12 (1) the committee's full name and address;
2-13 (2) the full name, residence or business street
2-14 address, and telephone number of the committee's campaign
2-15 treasurer;
2-16 (3) the identity and date of the election for which
2-17 the report is filed, if applicable;
2-18 (4) the name of each identified candidate or measure
2-19 or classification by party of candidates supported or opposed by
2-20 the committee, indicating whether the committee supports or opposes
2-21 each listed candidate, measure, or classification by party of
2-22 candidates;
2-23 (5) the name of each identified officeholder or
2-24 classification by party of officeholders assisted by the committee;
2-25 (6) the principal occupation of each person from whom
2-26 political contributions that in the aggregate exceed $50 are
2-27 accepted during the reporting period;
3-1 (7) the amount of each political expenditure in the
3-2 form of a political contribution made to a candidate, officeholder,
3-3 or specific-purpose [another political] committee that is returned
3-4 to the committee during the reporting period, the name of the
3-5 person to whom the expenditure was originally made, and the date it
3-6 is returned; and
3-7 (8) on a separate page or pages of the report, the
3-8 identification of any contribution from a corporation or labor
3-9 organization made and accepted under Subchapter D, Chapter 253.
3-10 Sec. 254.152. TIME FOR REPORTING CERTAIN EXPENDITURES. If a
3-11 general-purpose committee makes a political expenditure in the form
3-12 of a political contribution [to another general-purpose committee
3-13 or] to an out-of-state political committee and the contributing
3-14 committee does not intend that the contribution be used in
3-15 connection with a particular election, the contributing committee
3-16 shall include the expenditure in the first report required to be
3-17 filed under this subchapter after the expenditure is made.
3-18 SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
3-19 (b) Section 253.037(b), Election Code, as amended by this
3-20 Act, applies only to a political contribution accepted after August
3-21 31, 1997.
3-22 (c) The change in law to Sections 254.151 and 254.152,
3-23 Election Code, made by this Act does not apply to the reporting of
3-24 a political contribution made by a general-purpose committee to
3-25 another general-purpose committee before September 1, 1997. The
3-26 reporting of a political contribution made by a general-purpose
3-27 committee to another general-purpose committee before September 1,
4-1 1997, is covered by the law in effect when the contribution was
4-2 made, and the former law is continued in effect for this purpose.
4-3 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
4-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.