By Thompson H.B. No. 3496
77R8838 ESH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to political contributions to candidates for and members
1-3 of the State Board of Education; providing a criminal penalty.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 7.108, Education Code, is amended to read
1-6 as follows:
1-7 Sec. 7.108. RESTRICTIONS [PROHIBITION] ON POLITICAL
1-8 CONTRIBUTIONS AND [CONTRIBUTION OR] ACTIVITY. (a) A person
1-9 [interested in selling bonds of any type or a person engaged in
1-10 manufacturing, shipping, selling, or advertising textbooks or
1-11 otherwise connected with the textbook business] commits an offense
1-12 if:
1-13 (1) the person knowingly makes or authorizes a
1-14 political contribution to or takes part in, directly or indirectly,
1-15 the campaign of a candidate for or member of [any person seeking
1-16 election to or serving on] the board; and
1-17 (2) the person is:
1-18 (A) engaged in manufacturing, shipping, selling,
1-19 or advertising textbooks or otherwise connected with the textbook
1-20 business;
1-21 (B) a securities broker, investment consultant,
1-22 financial advisor, or other person who:
1-23 (i) has a direct or indirect interest in
1-24 the investment or management of the permanent school fund; or
2-1 (ii) seeks or intends to seek a direct or
2-2 indirect interest in the investment or management of the permanent
2-3 school fund; or
2-4 (C) a party to an executory contract with the
2-5 board.
2-6 (b) A candidate for or member of the board commits an
2-7 offense if the person knowingly accepts a political contribution
2-8 from a person described by Subsection (a)(2).
2-9 (c) A candidate for, member of, former candidate for, or
2-10 former member of the board may not knowingly use a political
2-11 contribution to make a campaign expenditure for an office other
2-12 than the office of member of the board or to make an officeholder
2-13 expenditure in connection with an office other than the office of
2-14 member of the board if the contribution was accepted while the
2-15 candidate or officeholder:
2-16 (1) was a candidate for the board; or
2-17 (2) held the office of member of the board.
2-18 (d) For purposes of this section, a political contribution
2-19 to or political expenditure by a specific-purpose committee for the
2-20 purpose of supporting a candidate for member of the board, opposing
2-21 the candidate's opponent, or assisting the candidate as an
2-22 officeholder is considered to be a contribution to or expenditure
2-23 by the candidate.
2-24 (e) An offense under this section [Subsection (a)] is a
2-25 Class A [B] misdemeanor.
2-26 (f) [(c)] In this section:
2-27 (1) "Campaign expenditure," "candidate," "officeholder
3-1 expenditure," "political ["Political] contribution," "political
3-2 expenditure," and "specific-purpose committee" have the meanings
3-3 [has the meaning] assigned by Section 251.001, Election Code.
3-4 (2) "Textbook" has the meaning assigned by Section
3-5 31.002.
3-6 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
3-7 only to an offense under Section 7.108, Education Code, that is
3-8 committed on or after September 1, 2001. For the purposes of this
3-9 section, an offense is committed before September 1, 2001, if any
3-10 element of the offense occurs before that date.
3-11 (b) An offense under Section 7.108, Education Code, that is
3-12 committed before September 1, 2001, is covered by the law in effect
3-13 when the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in
3-14 effect for that purpose.
3-15 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.