On June 28, the Houston City Council passed an ordinance updating its campaign finance law by delineating clear periods of time when candidates may receive political contributions.

Under the new ordinance, a person may make contributions to a city candidate of up to $5,000 per contribution cycle. A political action committee may make a contribution of up to $10,000 for the same period of time. Each contribution cycle lasts two years, from January 1 (following a general election or after the end of the last contribution cycle) to December 31 of the next year. Additional contributions can be made to a runoff candidate during a separate runoff contribution cycle.

The ordinance, passed on Wednesday, becomes effective tomorrow, July 1.

Photo of downtown Houston by Henry Han on Wikimedia Commons.