Floor Packet Page No. 821
Amend CSHB 3 as follows:
(1) On page 26, line 3, between "PRIVILEGES." and "The",
insert "(a)".
(2) On page 26, line 8, strike "or".
(3) On page 26, line 12, between "tax" and the period, insert
the following:
"; or
(3) is convicted of an offense or is assessed a civil
penalty exceeding $1,000 under Subchapter D, Chapter 253, Election
Code".
(4) On page 26, between lines 12 and 13, insert the following:
"(b) The provisions of this subchapter relating to the
revival of corporate privileges do not apply to a corporation whose
corporate privileges are revoked under Subsection (a) (3).".
(5) Add the following appropriately numbered Article to the
bill and renumber subsequent Articles and Sections of the bill
accordingly:
ARTICLE . POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY
CORPORATIONS AND CERTAIN OTHER ENTITIES
SECTION 1. Section 251.001, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subdivisions (2) and (8) and adding Subdivisions (21)-(27)
to read as follows:
(2) "Contribution" means a direct or indirect transfer
of money, goods, services, or any other thing of value and includes
an agreement made or other obligation incurred, whether legally
enforceable or not, to make a transfer. The term:
(A) includes:
(i) a loan or extension of credit, other
than those expressly excluded by this subdivision;
(ii) [, and] a guarantee of a loan or
extension of credit, including a loan described by Subparagraph
(i); or
(iii) a coordinated expenditure; and
(B) [this subdivision. The term] does not
include:
(i) [(A)] a loan made in the due course of
business by a corporation that is legally engaged in the business of
lending money and that has conducted the business continuously for
more than one year before the loan is made; or
(ii) [(B)] an expenditure required to be
reported under Section 305.006 (b), Government Code.
(8) "Direct campaign expenditure" means an [a
campaign] expenditure by a person for a communication that is
express advocacy or an electioneering communication and that is not
a coordinated expenditure with a candidate, officeholder,
political committee, or agent of a candidate, officeholder, or
political committee [that does not constitute a campaign
contribution by the person making the expenditure].
(21) "Restricted class" means the group of individuals
who:
(A) for a corporation, are the stockholders,
employees, and families of the stockholders and employees of the
corporation or the corporation's subsidiaries, branches,
divisions, affiliates, or departments; or
(B) for a labor organization, are the members,
employees, and families of the members and employees of the labor
organization.
(22) "Coordinated expenditure" means an expenditure
described by Section 251.010.
(23) "Electioneering communication" means a
communication that:
(A) is disseminated by a broadcast, cable, or
satellite communication, a mass mailing, or a telephone bank;
(B) refers to a clearly identified candidate;
(C) is publicly distributed:
(i) on or after the 60th day before the
general, special, or runoff election in which the clearly
identified candidate seeks election; or
(ii) on or after the 30th day before the
primary election in which the clearly identified candidate seeks
election;
(D) is targeted to the clearly identified
candidate's relevant electorate; and
(E) is not:
(i) a public communication that refers to a
clearly identified candidate appearing in a news story, commentary,
editorial, or work intended for entertainment distributed through
the facilities of a bona fide broadcasting station, newspaper,
magazine, or other publication, unless such facilities are owned or
controlled by a political party, political committee, or
candidate; or
(ii) a communication to the restricted class
of the person making the communication.
(24) A communication is "targeted to the clearly
identified candidate's relevant electorate" if it can be received
by at least the lesser of 50,000 people or two percent of those
eligible to vote for the candidate, as specified by the secretary of
state. Notwithstanding this subdivision, a communication is not
"targeted to the clearly identified candidate's relevant
electorate" if it can only be received by fewer than 500 people.
(25) "Mass mailing" means the mailing or facsimile
transmission of more than 500 identical or substantially similar
documents within a 30-day period.
(26) A communication is made by a "telephone bank" if
more than 500 telephone calls with an identical or substantially
similar message are made within a 30-day period.
(27) "Express advocacy" means a communication that
refers to a clearly identified candidate and that expressly
advocates for or against the candidate, regardless of the words
contained in the communication. The term "express advocacy" does
not include:
(A) a communication that refers to a clearly
identified candidate appearing in a news story, commentary,
editorial, or work intended for entertainment distributed through
the facilities of a bona fide broadcasting station, newspaper,
magazine, or other publication, unless such facilities are owned or
controlled by a political party, political committee, or candidate;
or
(B) a communication to the restricted class of
the person making the communication.
SECTION .02. Subchapter A, Chapter 251, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 251.010 to read as follows:
Sec. 251.010. COORDINATED EXPENDITURES. (a) An expenditure
is coordinated with a candidate, officeholder, or political
committee if the expenditure is made:
(1) in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, at
the request or suggestion of, or under an understanding with the
candidate, officeholder, or political committee or an agent acting
on behalf of the candidate, officeholder, or committee;
(2) wholly or partly for the production,
dissemination, distribution, or publication of political
advertising or a campaign communication prepared by the candidate,
officeholder, or political committee or an agent acting on behalf
of the candidate, officeholder, or committee;
(3) by a person based on information that the
candidate, officeholder, or political committee or an agent acting
on behalf of the candidate, officeholder, or committee provides to
the person about a candidate's, officeholder's, or committee's
plans, projects, or needs to the person making the expenditure with
the intent that the expenditure be made;
(4) by a person who, in the same semi-annual reporting
period as that in which the expenditure is made, is serving or has
served in an executive or policymaking position as a member,
employee, fund-raiser, or agent of the candidate, officeholder, or
political committee or an agent acting on behalf of the candidate,
officeholder, or committee;
(5) by a person who retains the professional advisory
or consulting services of another person who has provided or is
providing campaign-related services in the same semi-annual
reporting period as that in which the expenditure is made to the
candidate or officeholder, including services relating to the
candidate's or officeholder's decision to seek the office;
(6) for fund-raising activities with or for the
candidate, officeholder, or political committee or an agent acting
on behalf of the candidate, officeholder, or committee, or for the
solicitation or receipt of political contributions on behalf of the
candidate, officeholder, or political committee or an agent acting
on behalf of the candidate, officeholder, or committee; or
(7) for a communication that clearly identifies a
candidate if the person making the expenditure informs the
candidate, officeholder, or political committee or an agent acting
on behalf of the candidate, officeholder, or committee about the
communication's contents, intended audience, timing, location,
mode, or frequency of dissemination, and the candidate,
officeholder, committee, or agent approves the communication.
(b) An expenditure is coordinated with a political party if
the expenditure is made in cooperation, consultation, or concert
with, at the request or suggestion of, or under an understanding
with the political party or an agent acting on behalf of the party.
SECTION .03. The changes in law made by this article apply
only to a contribution or expenditure made on or after September 1,
2005. A contribution or expenditure made before September 1, 2005,
is governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION .04. This Article takes effect September 1, 2005.