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.