On May 29, Natalia Luna Ashley was named the new executive director by the Texas Ethics Commission. Ashley had been serving both as its interim executive director and its special counsel. She has also held the positions of assistant general counsel and assistant director of enforcement with the commission.

Photo of the Texas State Capitol Dome courtesy of Ed Uthman on Wikimedia Commons.

A new Texas Ethics Commission Rule regarding contributions to direct campaign expenditure-only committees became effective today.

Texas Ethics Commission Rule §22.5 requires a political committee intending to act exclusively as a direct campaign expenditure-only committee to file an affidavit with the Texas Ethics Commission stating the committee intends to act exclusively as a direct campaign expenditure-only committee and will not use its contributions made to it to make political contributions to any candidate for elective office, any officeholder, or any political committee making a political contribution to a candidate or officeholder.

The new rule requires the committee file the statement before it can accept a political contribution from corporations or labor organizations.

Steve Raborn, the Tarrant County, Texas Elections Administrator since 2006, will be leaving office on March 14. Raborn will next be working for Votec Corporation, a private company dealing with public election-related products and services. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Tarrant County Elections Commission intends to hire Raborn’s replacement before he leaves office.

On February 13, the Texas Ethics Commission issued an advisory opinion concerning the requirements of lobbyists to disclose office holders or candidates compensating or reimbursing the lobbyist for services from political contributions.

In Ethics Advisory Opinion No. 515, the commission held that while a lobbyist must disclose in a registration the full name and address of a candidate or officeholder who uses political contributions to compensate or reimburse the lobbyist, he or she is not required to disclose compensation or reimbursement received by an entity for services rendered by someone other than the lobbyist or a person acting as an agent of the lobbyist.

Lobbyists must disclose the full name and address of a candidate or officeholder who uses political contributions to compensate or reimburse an entity that employs or hires the lobbyist to render services for the candidate or officeholder.

On January 19, 2014, the city’s Wage Theft Ordinance takes effect. The ordinance prohibits contracts with the city for vendors convicted of wage theft, assessed an administrative penalty involving wage theft, or adjudicated in a civil action of engaging in wage theft. The prohibition applies to entering, continuing, or extending contracts with the city. City contractors are prohibited from retaliating against any person filing a wage theft complaint in good faith.

Photo of the Houston skyline courtesy of Hequals2henry on Wikimedia Commons.

A Texas Ethics Commission rule delineating the state’s document retention policy for treasurers of political committees takes effect today.

Rule §20.18, which was adopted on October 31, 2013, spells out the records needed to be kept for at least two years. The rule also outlines what documentation and actions are needed by a treasurer in order to remain in compliance with the state’s retention law.

Two other rules passed by the commission dealing with the reporting of contribution pledges and political expenditure disclosures take effect on January 1, 2015.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has proposed increasing the frequency of reporting campaign finance data and imposing a reporting requirement before spending for certain campaign contributions. Abbott, a candidate for governor, announced his intentions for these and other ethics reforms while campaigning, according to KHOU.com.

One proposal requires that no funds received above $5,000 within the last 30 days before an election be expended by a campaign or PAC until those funds have been reported to the Texas Ethics Commission and posted on the campaign or PAC website.

Other recommendations include requiring quarterly campaign finance reporting as opposed to semi-annually reporting and requiring public officials to disclose any state or local public contracts or paid relationships held by the official or his or her spouse.

On November 4, in response to a court decision enjoining the Texas Ethics Commission from enforcing parts of the Election Code, the Ethics Commission released guidance concerning independent expenditure-only PACs.

The commission acknowledged restrictions on independent expenditures from independent expenditure-only PACs, referred to in the state as “direct campaign expenditure only committees,” are currently unenforceable under the October 16, 2013, ruling in Texans for Free Enterprise v. Texas Ethics Commission.

The commission requires independent expenditure-only PACs submit a sworn statement stating the committee intends to act exclusively as a direct campaign expenditure only committee in accordance with Texans for Free Enterprise and the committee will not use its funds to make contributions to candidates for elective office, officeholders, or political committees supporting or opposing candidates or assisting officeholders.

The commission also made available sample template political committees may use to submit their sworn statements

A special election will be held November 5, 2013, for the Texas State House of Representatives District No. 50 seat.

State Rep. Mark Strama announced his resignation on June 26, 2013, in order to work for Google Fiber. The winner of the election will serve out the unexpired term of Strama, who was last elected to the seat on May 29, 2012.

On August 8, 2013, the Texas Ethics Commission adopted a new rule concerning political and legislative advertising related to redistricting and amended its definition of political advertising.

The new commission rule allows candidates campaigning in districts altered by redistricting to use the term re-elect “only if the candidate is the elected incumbent of an office that represented any part of the new or renumbered district prior to the redistricting”.

The definition of political advertising was amended to contrast an individual communication made by email versus “mass e-mails involving an expenditure of funds beyond the basic cost of hardware messaging software and bandwidth”. Currently the rule’s language in the definition of political advertising reads only that it “does not include communication made by email”.

The changes take effect on September 1, 2013.

Yesterday, the Texas Legislature adjourned its third special session sine die.

Governor Rick Perry had called the special session to consider legislation relating to the funding of transportation infrastructure projects. According to KVIA.com, the Legislature passed a constitutional amendment boosting transportation spending with money coming from oil and gas revenues diverted away from the state’s Rainy Day Fund. The amendment will be voted on next year by the state’s voters.

The Texas Legislature adjourned sine die yesterday on May 27.

However, the Legislature was immediately called into special session by Governor Rick Perry. The special session began in the evening, but cannot last longer than 30 days.

The initial call for the special session will focus on approving redistricting maps drawn for the 2012 election by federal judges, according to KRISTV.com. Other items are expected to be added to the special session’s agenda.

Photo of the Texas State Capitol by Kumar Appaiah on Wikipedia.

A bill requiring lobbyists to disclose work as campaign consultants passed in the Texas Legislature on May 9.

House Bill 1422 requires individuals registering as lobbyists with the state to include the full name and address of each person who compensates or reimburses the registrant, or person acting as an agent for the registrant, for services, including political consulting services, rendered by the registrant from:

• A political contribution;
• Interest received from a political contribution; or
• An asset purchased with a political contribution.

The legislation has been sent to Governor Rick Perry. If not vetoed, the bill will become law with or without his signature.

In a Texas bill introduced predominantly dealing with the ethics of public servants, the requirement for registering as a lobbyist in the state would be expanded.

House Bill 2737 amends the state’s lobbying law to include goodwill lobbying.

Specifically, the following definition is added: “Communicates directly with a member of the legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or administrative action” or any variation of the phrase includes establishing goodwill with the member for the purpose of later communicating with the member to influence legislation or administrative action.

A person would not be required to register if he or she spends 26 hours or less during the calendar quarter engaging in the communication. Additionally, the other current thresholds for determining whether registering as a lobbyist is required would remain.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Dennis Bonnen, also make changes concerning the regulations of political contributions and expenditures, political advertising, the conduct of public servants, and the reporting of personal financial information by public servants.

Photo of the Texas State Capitol courtesy of Kumar Appaiah on Wikipedia.