BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3921

By: Pena

Elections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current law requires political committees participating in both an initial election and a runoff election to file eight-day runoff election reports.  The applicable statutes require a specific-purpose committee that supports or opposes a candidate in an election and in an ensuing runoff election to file a runoff election report.  This is interpreted by some to mean that political committees who do not participate in the initial election do not have to file the report.  However, it is the position of the Texas Ethics Commission that all participants in a runoff election file a report. 

H.B. 3921 clarifies the law by requiring the campaign treasurer of certain political committees that become involved in a runoff election to file one report for the runoff election, regardless of whether the committees participated in the initial election.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 3921 amends Election Code provisions that require the filing of a report of political contributions and expenditures in connection with an election to apply such requirements to the campaign treasurer of a specific-purpose committee that supports or opposes a candidate in a runoff election or the campaign treasurer of a general-purpose committee involved in such an election, rather than the campaign treasurer of such a committee involved in both an initial election and an ensuing runoff election.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2009.