BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 854

By: Swanson

State Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Volunteers, advocates, and campaign employees have their residence address listed on a public campaign finance report if they are the recipient of a political expenditure as compensation for contributing time, resources, or labor to a campaign for a candidate that they believe in. Publicly posting someone's address leaves them vulnerable to harassment, or worse, by a bad actor, political opponent, or corrupt official. While it is important to have the addresses of those that donate to or receive money from a campaign on record, it is not necessary to have that specific information available to the general public. C.S.H.B. 854 seeks to require the Texas Ethics Commission to remove the residence address of an individual listed on a campaign finance report as having received a political expenditure before posting the report online, which is in line with the privacy protections currently available for individuals who donate to a campaign.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

C.S.H.B. 854 amends the Election Code to require the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC), in prescribing the format of a campaign finance report, to ensure the report includes a space to indicate whether the address of an individual listed as having received a political expenditure is a residence address. The bill requires the TEC, before making such a report available on the Internet, to remove each portion of the residence address of an individual listed as having received a political expenditure, other than the city, state, and zip code of that address, if the individual's address is indicated in that space on the report as being a residence address. The bill applies only to a report that is required to be filed on or after January 1, 2024.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 854 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a provision not in the introduced requiring the TEC, in prescribing the format of a campaign finance report, to ensure the report includes a space to indicate whether the address of an individual listed as having received a political expenditure is a residence address. The substitute revises the provision in the introduced requiring the TEC, before making such a report available on the Internet, to remove each portion of the residence address of an individual listed as having received a political expenditure, other than the city, state, and zip code of that address, by specifying that the requirement applies only if the individual's address is indicated in that space on the report as being a residence address.