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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the award of attorney's fees incurred in a suit |
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involving unlawful campaign contributions or campaign |
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expenditures. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 253.131, Election Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read |
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as follows: |
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(d) In this section, "damages" means: |
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(1) twice the value of the unlawful contribution or |
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expenditure; and |
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(2) reasonable attorney's fees incurred in the suit, |
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as provided by Subsections (f) and (g). |
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(f) The court may award attorney's fees to the plaintiff |
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only if: |
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(1) the court renders judgment in the plaintiff's |
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favor; and |
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(2) the plaintiff provides sufficient evidence that |
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the plaintiff provided proper notice of the violation of this |
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chapter to the defendant before the plaintiff filed suit under this |
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section. |
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(g) It is an affirmative defense to an award of attorney's |
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fees under Subsection (d) that the defendant, on receiving notice |
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of the violation of this chapter from the plaintiff, corrected the |
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violation within: |
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(1) 14 days of receiving the notice, if the violation |
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of this chapter occurred not more than 90 days before the relevant |
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election; or |
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(2) 30 days of receiving the notice, if the violation |
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of this chapter occurred more than 90 days before the relevant |
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election. |
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SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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a campaign contribution or campaign expenditure made on or after |
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the effective date of this Act. A campaign contribution or campaign |
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expenditure made before the effective date of this Act is subject to |
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the law in effect at the time the contribution or expenditure was |
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made, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |