The dates for the Texas general primary and the runoff elections have been changed.

Judge Orlando Garcia of the United States District Court for The Western District of Texas issued an order altering the dates of the elections. The order was agreed to by all parties in the action.

The 2012 general primary date has been changed from March 6 to April 3. The 2012 general primary runoff election will be held on June 5, instead of the previously scheduled date of May 22.

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it will hear arguments on January 9 regarding Congressional and State Legislature districts in Texas. This has put Texas campaigning and fundraising in a state of confusion.

You can find the news coverage here:

“Redistricting Orders Throw Texas Politics Into Disarray” by Ross Ramsey in the Texas Tribune.

“Texas Elections Are in Limbo Over Redistricting Issue” by Manny Fernandez in the New York Times.

“Judges to offer guidance to party leaders after Supreme Court blocks maps” by Tim Eaton in the American-Statesman.

Lobbyists in Texas must update their filing software to the newest version in order to properly file reports.

Becky Levy, Director of the Disclosure Filings Division of the Texas Ethics Commission, issued a memorandum stating before filing lobby activities reports, the software used must be upgraded in order to have the latest enhancements to file properly. Lobbyist activity reports in Texas must be filed electronically unless qualifying for an exemption.

More information about the software, and how to download it, is located here.

The Texas Ethics Commission has adopted amendments to its rules regarding reporting requirements under the campaign finance law.

The changes in administrative rules §§20.50, 20.62, 20.219, 20.279, 20.331, and 20.433 bring them in line with Senate Bill 1, passed earlier this year.

While the bill became effective September 28, the Ethics Commission’s adopted rules became effective today.

The Sunset Commission, a legislative body created by the Texas Legislature to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies, will seek public input during its scheduled review of the Texas Ethics Commission.

During the evaluation of the Ethics Commission’s mission and performance, submitted comments and suggestions will be accepted until the suggested date of November 21. The Sunset Commission then anticipates it will issue a report in March 2012 followed by a public hearing with testimony in April.

Based on the public input and the report, any recommendations to the legislature will be submitted at the start of its next session in January 2013.

Some of the duties the Texas Ethics Commission administers and enforces are the election code concerning political contributions, expenditures and political advertising, and lobbying registration, reports and activities.

The announcement of the review can be found here.

Photo of the Texas State Capitol by LoneStarMike on Wikipedia.

ALASKA: The Legislature’s second special session ended with the Senate adjourning sine die on June 27 and the House adjourning sine die on June 28.

MAINE: The Maine Legislature adjourned sine die June 29, 2011.

TEXAS: The Texas Legislature adjourned their special session on Wednesday, June 29, 2011. Barring another special session, the Legislature will not meet again until January, 2013.

However, the Legislature was immediately called into special session by Governor Rick Perry due to the failed effort to finalize the state budget.

The special session is set to begin Tuesday, May 31, and cannot last longer than 30 days.

Other items are expected to be added to the special session’s agenda.

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

House Bill 3653, a bill concerning lobbyist registration fees, was brought before the House Appropriations Committee on Monday, April 18, 2011, as the bill moves closer to a vote before the full House.

The bill would provide for lobbyist registration fees of up to $1,000; however, lobbyist registration fees of up to $200 would be assessed if the lobbyist is employed by a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) organization.

If passed, the bill provides for an effective date of September 1, 2011.

Photo of the Texas State Capitol by LoneStarMike on Wikipedia.

Effective March 17, 2011, the amount triggering detailed reporting for food, beverages, transportation, lodging, and entertainment will drop to $90.

The trigger is set by statute at 60% of the amount of the legislative per diem.

Due to the legislative per diem decreasing from $168 for the 2009 session to $150 for the 2011 session, the trigger has decreased from $100.80 to $90.

The bill would affect an individual who submits a competitive bid or proposal for a contract as an individual, partner or owner of a privately held business, or board member or executive officer of a business.

They would be prohibited from making a political contribution to a candidate for statewide office, a statewide officeholder, or a specific-purpose committee for supporting or opposing a candidate for statewide office or assisting a statewide officeholder, during the period beginning with the date the bid or proposal is submitted and ending when the contract is awarded to another person or the 30th day after the bidder is awarded the contract.

Further, the same restrictions would be applied to a general-purpose committee established or administered by a corporation. If passed in current form, the legislation would take effect September 1, 2011.

Companion bills seeking to create “revolving door” restrictions for members of the Texas legislature have been introduced during the 2011 session. Senate Bill 128 and House Bill 508 seek to prevent former members of the legislature from lobbying “before the date of final adjournment of the second regular session of the legislature to convene after the date the person ceases to be a member.”

If passed as presently written, a violation would be considered a class A misdemeanor in Texas.

Image of the Texas flag and state courtesy of Shem on Wikipedia.

The Houston City Council is expected to consider a new ethics ordinance this week wherein attorneys would no longer be able to lobby city officials under the guise of performing legal work. The ordinance would require all persons lobbying to register as lobbyists or face criminal penalties.

Further, changes would also be made prohibiting city officials from accepting or soliciting gifts from parties seeking to do business with the city.

Photo of Houston City Hall by Daniel2986 on Wikipedia.

The Texas Ethics Commission has issued a public notice to all lobbyists registered with the commission. The commission advises all filers to install the newest lobby electronic filing software, version 2.5.3, prior to filing a lobby activities report. In Texas, lobbyists required to register with the commission may include corporations, partnerships, association or other types of business entities as well as individuals.

The new software will be available for download on the Ethics Commission website beginning December 1, 2010 at: www.ethics.state.tx.us/whatsnew/elf_info_lobby.htm

Image of the Seal of the State of Texas by Juan Vega on Wikipedia.