Texas Election Code Title 15, Chapter 253 - Restrictions On Contributions And Expenditures

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL RESTRICTIONS

• Texas Section 253.001 - Contribution Or Expenditure In Another's Name Prohibited
  (a) A person may not knowingly make or authorize a political contribution in the name of or on behalf of another unless the person discloses...
• Texas Section 253.003 - Unlawfully Making Or Accepting Contribution
  (a) A person may not knowingly make a political contribution in violation of this chapter. (b) A person may not knowingly accept a political contribution...
• Texas Section 253.004 - Unlawfully Making Expenditure
  (a) A person may not knowingly make or authorize a political expenditure in violation of this chapter. (b) This section does not apply to a...

SUBCHAPTER B CANDIDATES, OFFICEHOLDERS, AND POLITICAL COMMITTEES

• Texas Section 253.005 - Expenditure From Unlawful Contribution
  (a) A person may not knowingly make or authorize a political expenditure wholly or partly from a political contribution the person knows to have been...
• Texas Section 253.031 - Contribution And Expenditure Without Campaign Treasurer Prohibited
  (a) A candidate may not knowingly accept a campaign contribution or make or authorize a campaign expenditure at a time when a campaign treasurer appointment...
• Texas Section 253.032 - Limitation On Contribution By Out-of-state Committee
  (a) In a reporting period, a candidate, officeholder, or political committee may not knowingly accept political contributions totaling more than $500 from an out-of-state political...
• Texas Section 253.033 - Cash Contributions Exceeding $100 Prohibited
  Sec. 253.033. CASH CONTRIBUTIONS EXCEEDING $100 PROHIBITED. (a) A candidate, officeholder, or specific-purpose committee may not knowingly accept from a contributor in a reporting period...
• Texas Section 253.034 - Restrictions On Contributions During And Following Regular Legislative Session
  (a) During the period beginning on the 30th day before the date a regular legislative session convenes and continuing through the 20th day after the...
• Texas Section 253.0341 - Restrictions On Contributions To Legislative Caucuses During And Following Regular Legislative Session
  (a) During the period beginning on the 30th day before the date a regular legislative session convenes and continuing through the 20th day after the...
• Texas Section 253.035 - Restrictions On Personal Use Of Contributions
  (a) A person who accepts a political contribution as a candidate or officeholder may not convert the contribution to personal use. (b) A specific-purpose committee...
• Texas Section 253.0351 - Loans From Personal Funds
  (a) A candidate or officeholder who makes political expenditures from the candidate's or officeholder's personal funds may report the amount expended as a loan and...
• Texas Section 253.036 - Officeholder Contributions Used In Connection With Campaign
  An officeholder who lawfully accepts officeholder contributions may use those contributions in connection with the officeholder's campaign for elective office after appointing a campaign treasurer....
• Texas Section 253.037 - Restrictions On Contribution Or Expenditure By General-purpose Committee
  (a) A general-purpose committee may not knowingly make or authorize a political contribution or political expenditure unless the committee has: (1) filed its campaign treasurer...
• Texas Section 253.038 - Payments Made To Purchase Real Property Or To Rent Certain Real Property Prohibited
  (a) A candidate or officeholder or a specific-purpose committee for supporting, opposing, or assisting the candidate or officeholder may not knowingly make or authorize a...
• Texas Section 253.039 - Contributions In Certain Public Buildings Prohibited
  (a) A person may not knowingly make or authorize a political contribution while in the Capitol or a courthouse to: (1) a candidate or officeholder;...
• Texas Section 253.040 - Separate Accounts
  (a) Except as provided by Section 253.0351(c), each candidate or officeholder shall keep the person's campaign and officeholder contributions in one or more accounts that...
• Texas Section 253.041 - Restrictions On Certain Payments
  (a) A candidate or officeholder or a specific-purpose committee for supporting, opposing, or assisting the candidate or officeholder may not knowingly make or authorize a...
• Texas Section 253.042 - Restrictions On Reimbursement Of Personal Funds And Payments On Certain Loans
  (a) A candidate or officeholder who makes political expenditures from the candidate's or officeholder's personal funds may not reimburse those personal funds from political contributions...

SUBCHAPTER D CORPORATIONS AND LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

• Texas Section 253.043 - Political Contributions Used In Connection With Appointive Office
  A former candidate or former officeholder who lawfully accepts political contributions may use those contributions to make an expenditure to defray expenses incurred by the...
• Texas Section 253.091 - Corporations Covered
  This subchapter applies only to corporations that are organized under the Texas Business Corporation Act, the Texas For-Profit Corporation Law, the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act,...
• Texas Section 253.092 - Treatment Of Incorporated Political Committee
  If a political committee the only principal purpose of which is accepting political contributions and making political expenditures incorporates for liability purposes only, the committee...
• Texas Section 253.093 - Certain Associations Covered
  (a) For purposes of this subchapter, the following associations, whether incorporated or not, are considered to be corporations covered by this subchapter: banks, trust companies,...
• Texas Section 253.094 - Contributions Prohibited
  (a) A corporation or labor organization may not make a political contribution that is not authorized by this subchapter. (b) A corporation or labor organization...
• Texas Section 253.095 - Punishment Of Agent
  An officer, director, or other agent of a corporation or labor organization who commits an offense under this subchapter is punishable for the grade of...
• Texas Section 253.096 - Contribution On Measure
  A corporation or labor organization may make campaign contributions from its own property in connection with an election on a measure only to a political...
• Texas Section 253.098 - Communication With Stockholders Or Members
  (a) A corporation or labor organization may make one or more direct campaign expenditures from its own property for the purpose of communicating directly with...
• Texas Section 253.099 - Nonpartisan Voter Registration And Get-out-the-vote Campaigns
  (a) A corporation or labor organization may make one or more expenditures to finance nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns aimed at its stockholders or...
• Texas Section 253.100 - Expenditures For General-purpose Committee
  (a) A corporation, acting alone or with one or more other corporations, may make one or more political expenditures to finance the establishment or administration...
• Texas Section 253.101 - Unlawful Contribution Or Expenditure By Committee
  (a) A political committee assisted by a corporation or labor organization under Section 253.100 may not make a political contribution or political expenditure in whole...
• Texas Section 253.102 - Coercion Prohibited
  (a) A corporation or labor organization or a political committee assisted by a corporation or labor organization under Section 253.100 commits an offense if it...
• Texas Section 253.103 - Corporate Loans
  (a) A corporation may not make a loan to a candidate, officeholder, or political committee for campaign or officeholder purposes unless: (1) the corporation has...

SUBCHAPTER E CIVIL LIABILITY

• Texas Section 253.104 - Contribution To Political Party
  (a) A corporation or labor organization may make a contribution from its own property to a political party to be used as provided by Chapter...
• Texas Section 253.131 - Liability To Candidates
  (a) A person who knowingly makes or accepts a campaign contribution or makes a campaign expenditure in violation of this chapter is liable for damages...
• Texas Section 253.132 - Liability To Political Committees
  (a) A corporation or labor organization that knowingly makes a campaign contribution to a political committee or a direct campaign expenditure in violation of Subchapter...
• Texas Section 253.133 - Liability To State
  A person who knowingly makes or accepts a political contribution or makes a political expenditure in violation of this chapter is liable for damages to...

SUBCHAPTER F JUDICIAL CAMPAIGN FAIRNESS ACT

• Texas Section 253.134 - Civil Penalties Imposed By Commission
  This title does not prohibit the imposition of civil penalties by the commission in addition to criminal penalties or other sanctions imposed by law. Added...
• Texas Section 253.151 - Applicability Of Subchapter
  This subchapter applies only to a political contribution or political expenditure in connection with the office of: (1) chief justice or justice, supreme court; (2)...
• Texas Section 253.152 - Definitions
  In this subchapter: (1) "Complying candidate" or "complying officeholder" means a judicial candidate who files a declaration of compliance under Section 253.164(a)(1). (2) "In connection...
• Texas Section 253.153 - Contribution Prohibited Except During Election Period
  (a) A judicial candidate or officeholder, a specific-purpose committee for supporting or opposing a judicial candidate, or a specific-purpose committee for assisting a judicial officeholder...
• Texas Section 253.154 - Write-in Candidacy
  (a) A write-in candidate for judicial office or a specific-purpose committee for supporting a write-in candidate for judicial office may not knowingly accept a political...
• Texas Section 253.1541 - Acceptance Of Officeholder Contributions By Person Appointed To Fill Vacancy
  (a) This section applies only to a person appointed to fill a vacancy in an office covered by this subchapter who, at the time of...
• Texas Section 253.155 - Contribution Limits
  (a) Subject to Section 253.1621, a judicial candidate or officeholder may not, except as provided by Subsection (c), knowingly accept political contributions from a person...
• Texas Section 253.157 - Limit On Contribution By Law Firm Or Member Or General-purpose Committee Of Law Firm
  (a) Subject to Section 253.1621, a judicial candidate or officeholder may not accept a political contribution in excess of $50 from a person if: (1)...
• Texas Section 253.158 - Contribution By Spouse Or Child Considered To Be Contribution By Individual
  (a) For purposes of Sections 253.155 and 253.157, a contribution by the spouse or child of an individual is considered to be a contribution by...
• Texas Section 253.159 - Exception To Contribution Limits
  Sections 253.155 and 253.157 do not apply to an individual who is related to the candidate or officeholder within the second degree by consanguinity, as...
• Texas Section 253.160 - Aggregate Limit On Contributions From And Direct Campaign Expenditures By General-purpose Committee
  (a) Subject to Section 253.1621, a judicial candidate or officeholder may not knowingly accept a political contribution from a general-purpose committee that, when aggregated with...
• Texas Section 253.1601 - Contribution To Certain Committees Considered Contribution To Candidate
  For purposes of Sections 253.155, 253.157, and 253.160, a contribution to a specific-purpose committee for the purpose of supporting a judicial candidate, opposing the candidate's...
• Texas Section 253.161 - Use Of Contribution From Nonjudicial Or Judicial Office Prohibited
  (a) A judicial candidate or officeholder, a specific-purpose committee for supporting or opposing a judicial candidate, or a specific-purpose committee for assisting a judicial officeholder...
• Texas Section 253.1611 - Certain Contributions By Judicial Candidates, Officeholders, And Committees Restricted
  (a) A judicial candidate or officeholder or a specific-purpose committee for supporting or opposing a judicial candidate or assisting a judicial officeholder may not use...
• Texas Section 253.162 - Restrictions On Reimbursement Of Personal Funds And Payments On Certain Loans
  (a) Subject to Section 253.1621, a judicial candidate or officeholder who makes political expenditures from the person's personal funds may not reimburse the personal funds...
• Texas Section 253.1621 - Application Of Contribution And Reimbursement Limits To Certain Candidates
  (a) For purposes of a contribution limit prescribed by Section 253.155, 253.157, or 253.160 and the limit on reimbursement of personal funds prescribed by Section...
• Texas Section 253.163 - Notice Required For Certain Political Expenditures
  (a) A person other than a candidate, officeholder, or the principal political committee of the state executive committee or a county executive committee of a...
• Texas Section 253.164 - Voluntary Compliance
  (a) When a person becomes a candidate for a judicial office, the person shall file with the authority with whom the candidate's campaign treasurer appointment...
• Texas Section 253.165 - Effect Of Noncomplying Candidate
  (a) A complying candidate or a specific-purpose committee for supporting a complying candidate is not required to comply with the limits on contributions, expenditures, and...
• Texas Section 253.166 - Benefit To Complying Candidate
  (a) A complying candidate is entitled to state on political advertising as provided by Section 255.008 that the candidate complies with the Judicial Campaign Fairness...
• Texas Section 253.167 - Certification Of Population; Notice Of Contribution And Expenditure Limits
  (a) For purposes of this subchapter only, not later than June 1 of each odd-numbered year, the commission shall: (1) make a written certification of...
• Texas Section 253.168 - Expenditure Limits
  (a) For each election in which the candidate is involved, a complying candidate may not knowingly make or authorize political expenditures that in the aggregate...
• Texas Section 253.169 - Expenditure By Certain Committees Considered Expenditure By Candidate
  (a) For purposes of Section 253.168, an expenditure by a specific-purpose committee for the purpose of supporting a candidate, opposing the candidate's opponent, or assisting...
• Texas Section 253.170 - Effect Of Certain Political Expenditures
  (a) A complying candidate for an office other than a statewide judicial office or a specific-purpose committee for supporting such a candidate is not required...
• Texas Section 253.171 - Contribution From Or Direct Campaign Expenditure By Political Party
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a political contribution to or a direct campaign expenditure on behalf of a complying candidate that is made...
• Texas Section 253.172 - Restriction On Exceeding Expenditure Limits
  (a) A candidate who files a declaration of compliance under Section 253.164(a)(1) and who later files a declaration of intent to exceed the limits on...
• Texas Section 253.173 - Agreement To Evade Limits Prohibited
  (a) A complying candidate may not: (1) solicit a person to enter a campaign as a noncomplying candidate opposing the complying candidate; or (2) enter...
• Texas Section 253.174 - Misrepresentation Of Opponent's Compliance With Or Violation Of Subchapter Prohibited
  (a) A candidate for judicial office may not knowingly misrepresent that an opponent of the candidate: (1) is a noncomplying candidate; or (2) has violated...
• Texas Section 253.175 - Judicial Campaign Fairness Fund
  (a) The judicial campaign fairness fund is a special account in the general revenue fund. (b) The judicial campaign fairness fund consists of: (1) penalties...
• Texas Section 253.176 - Civil Penalty
  (a) The commission may impose a civil penalty against a person only after a formal hearing as provided by Subchapter E, Chapter 571, Government Code....

Last modified: September 28, 2016