78R4526 ATP-D
By: Shapleigh S.B. No. 649
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the reporting of political contributions and
expenditures.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 254.031, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, each
report filed under this chapter must include:
(1) the amount of political contributions from each
person that in the aggregate exceed $50 and that are accepted during
the reporting period by the person or committee required to file a
report under this chapter, the full name and address of the person
making the contributions, and the dates of the contributions;
(2) for each individual from whom the person or
committee required to file the report has accepted political
contributions that in the aggregate equal $500 or more and that are
accepted during the reporting period:
(A) the individual's principal occupation or job
title; and
(B) the full name of the individual's primary
employer, if any;
(3) the amount of loans that are made during the
reporting period for campaign or officeholder purposes to the
person or committee required to file the report and that in the
aggregate exceed $50, the dates the loans are made, the interest
rate, the maturity date, the type of collateral for the loans, if
any, the full name and address of the person or financial
institution making the loans, the full name and address, principal
occupation, and name of the employer of each guarantor of the loans,
the amount of the loans guaranteed by each guarantor, and the
aggregate principal amount of all outstanding loans as of the last
day of the reporting period;
(4) [(3)] the amount of political expenditures that in
the aggregate exceed $50 and that are made during the reporting
period, the full name and address of the persons to whom the
expenditures are made, and the dates and purposes of the
expenditures;
(5) [(4)] the amount of each payment made during the
reporting period from a political contribution if the payment is
not a political expenditure, the full name and address of the person
to whom the payment is made, and the date and purpose of the
payment;
(6) [(5)] the total amount or a specific listing of
the political contributions of $50 or less accepted and the total
amount or a specific listing of the political expenditures of $50 or
less made during the reporting period;
(7) [(6)] the total amount of all political
contributions accepted and the total amount of all political
expenditures made during the reporting period; and
(8) [(7)] the name of each candidate or officeholder
who benefits from a direct campaign expenditure made during the
reporting period by the person or committee required to file the
report, and the office sought or held, excluding a direct campaign
expenditure that is made by the principal political committee of a
political party on behalf of a slate of two or more nominees of that
party.
(c) A report under this chapter is considered to be in
compliance with Subsection (a)(2) only if the person or committee
required to file the report or the person's or committee's campaign
treasurer shows that the person or committee has used reasonable
efforts, as provided by Section 254.0312, to obtain, maintain, and
report the information required by that subsection.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 254, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 254.0312 to read as follows:
Sec. 254.0312. REASONABLE EFFORTS. (a) A person or
committee required to file a report under this subchapter is
considered to have used reasonable efforts to obtain, maintain, and
report the information required by Section 254.031(a)(2) if the
person or the person's or committee's campaign treasurer complies
with this section.
(b) Each written solicitation for political contributions
from an individual must include a clear and conspicuous request for
the individual's full name and address, the individual's principal
occupation or job title, and the full name of the individual's
primary employer.
(c) For each political contribution received from an
individual that, when aggregated with all other political
contributions received from the individual during the reporting
period, equals $500 or more and for which the information required
by Section 254.031(a)(2) is not provided, the person or committee
must make at least one oral or written request for the missing
information. A request under this subsection:
(1) must be made not later than the 30th day after the
date the contribution is received; and
(2) may not be made in conjunction with a solicitation
for an additional political contribution.
(d) A request under Subsection (c) that is made in writing
must include a clear and conspicuous statement that complies with
Subsection (b). A request that is made orally must be documented in
writing.
(e) A person or committee must report any information
required by Section 254.031(a)(2) that is not provided by the
individual making the contribution and that the person or committee
has in the person's or committee's records of political
contributions or previous reports under this chapter.
(f) A person or committee that receives information
required by Section 254.031(a)(2) after the filing deadline for the
report on which the contribution is reported must include the
missing information on the next report that the person or committee
is required to file under this chapter.
SECTION 3. Section 254.036(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection [(c),] (d), (e), (f),
or (g), each report filed under this chapter with the commission
must be filed by computer diskette, modem, or other means of
electronic transfer, using computer software provided by the
commission or computer software that meets commission
specifications for a standard file format.
SECTION 4. Sections 254.0401(a) and (e), Election Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The [Except as provided by Subsection (b), the]
commission shall make each report filed with the commission under
Section 254.036(b) available to the public on the Internet not
later than the second business day after the date the report is
filed.
(e) Before making a report filed under Section 254.036(b)
available on the Internet, the commission shall remove each
portion, other than the street name, city, state, and zip code, of
the address of a person listed as having made a political
contribution to the person filing the report. The address
information removed must remain available on the report maintained
in the commission's office but may not be available electronically
at that office.
SECTION 5. Sections 254.036(c) and 254.0401(b) and (c),
Election Code, are repealed.
SECTION 6. (a) Section 254.031, Election Code, as amended
by this Act, and Section 254.0312, Election Code, as added by this
Act, apply only to a report filed under Chapter 254, Election Code,
that covers a reporting period beginning on or after January 1,
2004. A report filed under Chapter 254, Election Code, that covers
a reporting period that begins before January 1, 2004, is covered by
the law in existence on the date the reporting period began, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) Section 254.036, Election Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to a report required to be filed under Chapter 254,
Election Code, on or after January 1, 2004. A report required to be
filed under Chapter 254, Election Code, before January 1, 2004, may
be filed in compliance with Section 254.036, Election Code, as that
section existed before amendment by this Act, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) The change in law made by this Act to Section 254.0401,
Election Code, applies only to a report filed under Chapter 254,
Election Code, on or after September 1, 2003.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.