By: Zwiener H.B. No. 5182

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to civil penalties imposed by the Texas Ethics Commission, including the collection of and eligibility for public elective office of persons liable for those penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 141.001(a), Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:

(1) be a United States citizen;

(2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as applicable;

(3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:

(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or

(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote;

(4) have not been finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;

(5) have resided continuously in the state for 12 months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six months immediately preceding the following date:

(A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;

(B) for an independent candidate, the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;

(C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the election at which the candidate's name is written in;

(D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is made; and

(E) for an appointee to an office, the date the appointment is made;

(6) on the date described by Subdivision (5), be registered to vote in the territory from which the office is elected; [and]

(7) satisfy any other eligibility requirements prescribed by law for the office; and

(8) have paid in full any civil penalty or fine the Texas Ethics Commission has imposed:

(A) prior to the first date of the regular filing period for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot if the office is to be filled by an election; or

(B) prior to the date of appointment if the office is to be filled by an appointment.

SECTION 2. Section 253.035, Election Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:

(c-1) The prohibitions prescribed by Subsections (a) and (b) include the personal use of a political contribution to pay a civil penalty or fine the commission imposes.

SECTION 3. Section 254.042(b), Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) If a report other than a report under Section 254.064(c), 254.124(c), or 254.154(c) or the first report under Section 254.063 or 254.123 that is required to be filed following the primary or general election is determined to be late, the person required to file the report is liable to the state for a civil penalty of $1,001 [$500]. If a report under Section 254.064(c), 254.124(c), or 254.154(c) or the first report under Section 254.063 or 254.153 that is required to be filed following the primary or general election is determined to be late, the person required to file the report is liable to the state for a civil penalty of $1,001 [$500] for the first day the report is late and $100 for each day thereafter that the report is late. If a report is more than 30 days late, the commission shall issue a warning of liability by registered mail to the person required to file the report. If the penalty is not paid before the 10th day after the date on which the warning is received, the person is liable for a civil penalty in an amount determined by commission rule, but not to exceed $10,000.

SECTION 4. Section 402.0212, Government Code, is amended by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:

(g) This section does not apply to the Texas Ethics Commission.

SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 571, Government Code, is amended by adding Sections 571.080 and 571.081 to read as follows:

Sec. 571.080. USE OF APPROPRIATED MONEY TO RETAIN OUTSIDE COUNSEL. Notwithstanding any other law, the commission:

(1) may use appropriated money to contract with outside legal counsel for the purpose of collecting a civil penalty the commission imposes; and

(2) is not required to request or obtain approval from the attorney general before contracting with outside legal counsel under Subdivision (1).

Sec. 571.081. DEPOSIT OF CIVIL PENALTIES TO GENERAL REVENUE FUND. (a) The comptroller shall deposit to the credit of the general revenue fund the proceeds from a civil penalty collected for a violation of a law the commission administers and enforces and that is not paid voluntarily.

(b) Money the comptroller deposits to the credit of the general revenue fund under this section may only be appropriated to the commission for the purpose of collecting civil penalties for a violation of a law the commission administers and enforces.

SECTION 6. Section 2107.003, Government Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (d), (e), (g), (h), and (i) and adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), [or] (c-1), (k), or (l), a state agency shall refer an uncollected and delinquent obligation that meets the referral guidelines established by the attorney general to the attorney general for further collection efforts. The state agency must refer the obligation on or before the 90th day after the date the obligation becomes past due or delinquent.

(d) The agency contracting under Subsection (b), [or] (c), (k), or (l) is entitled to recover from the obligor, in addition to the amount of the obligation, reasonable costs incurred in undertaking the collection, including the costs of a contract under this section, in an amount not to exceed 30 percent of the total amount of the obligation.

(e) A person awarded a contract under Subsection (b), (c), [or] (c-1), (k), or (l) may not file suit or otherwise pursue judicial action to collect the obligation owed in a court of this state or another state on behalf of the contracting state agency.

(g) The contracting state agency may provide a person contracting under Subsection (b), (c), [or] (c-1), (k), or (l) any information, including confidential information, that the agency is not prohibited from sharing with another state or with the United States and that is:

(1) in the custody of the agency owed the obligation; and

(2) necessary to the collection of the obligation.

(h) A person acting under a contract formed under Subsection (b), (c), [or] (c-1), (k), or (l) and each employee or agent of that person is subject to all statutory prohibitions against the wrongful disclosure of confidential information that the contracting state agency and its employees are subject to. A contractor's employee is subject to the same penalties for wrongful disclosure of confidential information as would apply to the employees of the contracting agency.

(i) The contracting agency shall require a person who contracts under Subsection (b), (c), [or] (c-1), (k), or (l) to obtain and maintain insurance adequate to provide reasonable coverage for damages negligently, recklessly, or intentionally caused by the contractor or the contractor's employee or agent in the course of collecting an obligation under the contract.

(k) The Texas Ethics Commission may employ, retain, or contract with a person other than a full-time state employee to collect delinquent obligations owed to the commission in the commission's official capacity. The commission may use money appropriated to the commission for the purpose of enforcing laws administered and enforced by the commission to employ, retain, or contract with a person under this subsection. A person contracted under this subsection is entitled to a collection fee, as provided under the contract, in an amount not to exceed 30 percent of the full amount of the obligation collected.

(l) The Texas Ethics Commission may contract with one or more persons to collect delinquent obligations that have been referred to the attorney general if the attorney general has returned the matter to the commission after exhausting all reasonable efforts or has not taken action to collect the obligation before the sixth month after the date the attorney general received the referral. A person contracted under this subsection is entitled to a collection fee equal to 30 percent of the full amount of the obligation collected.

SECTION 7. Section 254.042, Election Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a report that is required to be filed under Chapter 254, Election Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. A report under that chapter that is required to be filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the report was required to be filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.