By Yarbrough                                    H.B. No. 1417

      75R6306 CAG-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to restrictions on contributions or expenditures by

 1-3     political action committees.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 253.037, Election Code, is amended to

 1-6     read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 253.037.  RESTRICTIONS ON CONTRIBUTION OR EXPENDITURE BY

 1-8     GENERAL-PURPOSE OR SPECIFIC-PURPOSE COMMITTEE.  (a)  A

 1-9     general-purpose committee may not knowingly make or authorize a

1-10     political contribution or political expenditure unless the

1-11     committee has:

1-12                 (1)  filed its campaign treasurer appointment not later

1-13     than the 180th day [60th day] before the date the contribution or

1-14     expenditure is made; and

1-15                 (2)  accepted political contributions from at least 10

1-16     persons.

1-17           (b)  A specific-purpose committee may not knowingly make or

1-18     authorize a political contribution or political expenditure unless

1-19     the committee has filed its campaign treasurer appointment not

1-20     later than the 180th day before the date the contribution or

1-21     expenditure is made.

1-22           (c)  A general-purpose committee may not knowingly make a

1-23     political contribution to another general-purpose committee unless

1-24     the other committee is listed in the campaign treasurer appointment

 2-1     of the contributor committee.

 2-2           (d) [(c)]  Subsection (a) does not apply to a political

 2-3     party's county executive committee that is complying with Section

 2-4     253.031 or to a general-purpose committee that accepts

 2-5     contributions from a multicandidate political committee (as defined

 2-6     by the Federal Election Campaign Act) that is registered with the

 2-7     Federal Election Commission, provided that the general-purpose

 2-8     committee is in compliance with Section 253.032.

 2-9           (e) [(d)]  A person who violates this section commits an

2-10     offense.  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

2-11           SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only

2-12     to a political contribution or expenditure by a general-purpose or

2-13     specific-purpose committee made on or after January 1, 1998.  A

2-14     contribution or expenditure made before that date is governed by

2-15     the law as it existed immediately before the effective date of this

2-16     Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

2-17           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-18     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-19     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-20     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-21     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.