Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in Title 15 of the
Election Code, in this chapter, Chapter 22 of this title (relating to
Restrictions on Contributions and Expenditures), and Chapter 24 of this title
(relating to Restrictions on Contributions and Expenditures Applicable to
Corporations and Labor Organizations), shall have the following meanings,
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Campaign communication--The term does not
include a communication made by e-mail.
(2) Campaign treasurer--Either the individual
appointed by a candidate to be the campaign treasurer, or the individual
responsible for filing campaign finance reports of a political committee under
Texas law or the law of any other state.
(3) Contribution--The term does not include a
transfer for consideration of any thing of value pursuant to a contract that
reflects the usual and normal business practice of the vendor.
(4) Corporation--The term does not include
professional corporations or professional associations.
(5) Election cycle--A single election and any
related primary or runoff election.
(6) Identified measure--A question or
proposal submitted in an election for an expression of the voters' will and
includes the circulation and submission of a petition to determine whether a
question or proposal is required to be submitted in an election for an
expression of the voters' will.
(7)
Non-political expenditure--An expenditure from political contributions that is
not an officeholder expenditure or a campaign expenditure.
(8) Opposed candidate--A candidate who has an
opponent whose name is to appear on the ballot. The name of a write-in
candidate does not appear on the ballot.
(9) Out-of-state political committee--A
political committee that makes political expenditures outside Texas and in the
12 months immediately preceding the making of a political expenditure by the
committee inside Texas (other than an expenditure made in connection with a
campaign for a federal office or made for a federal officeholder), makes 80% or
more of the committee's total political expenditures in any combination of
elections outside this state and federal offices not voted on in this state.
Section
RSA 20.13
of this title (relating to Out-of-State Committees) explains the practical
application of this definition.
(10) Pledge--A contribution in the form of an
unfulfilled promise or unfulfilled agreement, whether enforceable or not, to
provide a specified amount of money or specific goods or services. The term
does not include a contribution actually made in the form of a check.
(11) Political advertising:
(A) A communication that supports or opposes
a political party, a public officer, a measure, or a candidate for nomination
or election to a public office or office of a political party, and:
(i) is published in a newspaper, magazine, or
other periodical in return for consideration;
(ii) is broadcast by radio or television in
return for consideration;
(iii)
appears in a pamphlet, circular, flier, billboard, or other sign, bumper
sticker, or similar form of written communication; or
(iv) appears on an Internet
website.
(B) The term
does not include an individual communication made by e-mail or text message but
does include mass e-mails and text messages involving an expenditure of funds
beyond the basic cost of hardware, messaging software, and bandwidth.
(12) Political subdivision--A
county, city, or school district or any other governmental entity that:
(A) embraces a geographic area with a defined
boundary;
(B) exists for the
purpose of discharging functions of government; and
(C) possesses authority for subordinate
self-government through officers selected by it.
(13) Report--Any document required to be
filed by this title, including an appointment of campaign treasurer, any type
of report of contributions and expenditures, and any notice.
(14) Special pre-election report--A shorthand
term for a report filed in accordance with the requirements of §§
RSA
20.221,
RSA
20.333, or
RSA
20.435 of this title (relating to Special
Pre-Election Report by Certain Candidates; Special Pre-Election Report by
Certain Specific-Purpose Committees; Special Pre-Election Reports by Certain
General-Purpose Committees) and §§
RSA
254.038 and §
RSA
254.039 of the Election Code (relating to
Special Report Near Election by Certain Candidates and Political Committees and
Special Report Near Election By Certain General-Purpose Committees).
(15) Specific-purpose committee--A political
committee that does not meet the definition of general-purpose committee and
that has among its principal purposes:
(A)
supporting or opposing one or more:
(i)
candidates, all of whom are identified and are seeking offices that are known;
or
(ii) measures, all of which are
identified;
(B) assisting
one or more officeholders, all of whom are identified; or
(C) supporting or opposing only one candidate
who is unidentified or who is seeking an office that is unknown.
(16) Unidentified measure--A
question or proposal that is intended to be submitted in an election for an
expression of the voters' will and that is not yet legally required to be
submitted in an election, except that the term does not include the circulation
or submission of a petition to determine whether a question or proposal is
required to be submitted in an election for an expression of the voters' will.
The circulation or submission of a petition to determine whether a question or
proposal is required to be submitted in an election for an expression of the
voters' will is considered to be an identified measure.
(17) Principal purpose--A group has as a
principal purpose of accepting political contributions or making political
expenditures, including direct campaign expenditures, when that activity is an
important or a main function of the group.
(A)
A group may have more than one principal purpose.
(B) A group has as a principal purpose
accepting political contributions if the proportion of the political
contributions to the total contributions to the group is more than 25 percent
within a calendar year. A contributor intends to make a political contribution
if the solicitations that prompted the contribution or the statements made by
the contributor about the contribution would lead to no other reasonable
conclusion than that the contribution was intended to be a political
contribution.
(C) The group may
maintain specific evidence of contributions related only to political
contributions or only to nonpolitical contributions. For example, the group may
ask the contributor to make an indication when the contribution is made that
the contribution is only a nonpolitical contribution.
(D) A group has as a principal purpose making
political expenditures, including direct expenditures, if the group expends
more than 25 percent of its annual expenses to make political expenditures
within a calendar year. The following shall be included for purposes of
calculating the threshold:
(i) the amount of
money paid in compensation and benefits to the group's employees for work
related to making political expenditures;
(ii) the amount of money spent on political
expenditures; and
(iii) the amount
of money attributable to the proportional share of administrative expenses
related to political expenditures. The proportional share of administrative
expenses is calculated by comparing the political expenditures in clause (ii)
of this subparagraph with nonpolitical expenditures. (For example, if the group
sends three mailings a year and each costs $10,000, if the first two are issue
based newsletters and the third is a direct advocacy sample ballot, and there
were no other outside expenditures, then the proportion of the administrative
expenses attributable to political expenditures would be 33%.) Administrative
expenses include:
(I) fees for services to
non-employees;
(II) advertising and
promotion;
(III) office
expenses;
(IV) information
technology;
(V)
occupancy;
(VI) travel
expenses;
(VII) interest;
and
(VIII) insurance.
(E) The group may
maintain specific evidence of administrative expenses related only to political
expenditures or only to nonpolitical expenditures. Specifically identified
administrative expenses shall not be included in the proportion established by
subparagraph (D)(iii) but allocated by the actual amount of the
expense.
(F) In this section, the
term "political expenditures" includes direct campaign expenditures.
(18) In connection with a
campaign:
(A) An expenditure is made in
connection with a campaign for an elective office if it is:
(i) made for a communication that expressly
advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate by:
(I) using such words as "vote for," "elect,"
"support," "vote against," "defeat," "reject," "cast your ballot for," or
"Smith for city council;" or
(II)
using such phrases as "elect the incumbent" or "reject the challenger," or such
phrases as "vote pro-life" or "vote pro-choice" accompanied by a listing of
candidates described as "pro-life" or "pro-choice;"
(ii) made for a communication broadcast by
radio, television, cable, or satellite or distributed by print or electronic
media, including any print publication, mailing, Internet website, electronic
mail, or automated phone bank, that:
(I)
refers to a clearly identified candidate;
(II) is distributed within 30 days before a
contested election for the office sought by the candidate;
(III) targets a mass audience or group in the
geographical area the candidate seeks to represent; and
(IV) includes words, whether displayed,
written, or spoken; images of the candidate or candidate's opponent; or sounds
of the voice of the candidate or candidate's opponent that, without
consideration of the intent of the person making the communication, are
susceptible of no other reasonable interpretation than to urge the election or
defeat of the candidate;
(iii) made by a candidate or political
committee to support or oppose a candidate; or
(iv) a campaign contribution to:
(I) a candidate; or
(II) a group that, at the time of the
contribution, already qualifies as a political committee.
(B) An expenditure is made in
connection with a campaign on a measure if it is:
(i) made for a communication that expressly
advocates the passage or defeat of a clearly identified measure by using such
words as "vote for," "support," "vote against," "defeat," "reject," or "cast
your ballot for;"
(ii) made for a
communication broadcast by radio, television, cable, or satellite or
distributed by print or electronic media, including any print publication,
mailing, Internet website, electronic mail, or automated phone bank, that:
(I) refers to a clearly identified
measure;
(II) is distributed within
30 days before the election in which the measure is to appear on the
ballot;
(III) targets a mass
audience or group in the geographical area in which the measure is to appear on
the ballot; and
(IV) includes
words, whether displayed, written, or spoken, that, without consideration of
the intent of the person making the communication, are susceptible of no other
reasonable interpretation than to urge the passage or defeat of the
measure;
(iii) made by a
political committee to support or oppose a measure; or
(iv) a campaign contribution to a group that,
at the time of the contribution, already qualifies as a political
committee.
(C) Any cost
incurred for covering or carrying a news story, commentary, or editorial by a
broadcasting station or cable television operator, Internet website, or
newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, including an Internet or
other electronic publication, is not a campaign expenditure if the cost for the
news story, commentary, or editorial is not paid for by, and the medium is not
owned or controlled by, a candidate or political committee.
(D) For purposes of this section:
(i) a candidate is clearly identified by a
communication that includes the candidate's name, office sought, office held,
likeness, photograph, or other apparent and unambiguous reference;
and
(ii) a measure is clearly
identified by a communication that includes the measure's name or ballot
designation (such as "Proposition 1"), purposes, election date, or other
apparent and unambiguous reference.
(19) Discount--The provision of any goods or
services without charge or at a charge which is less than fair market value. A
discount is an in-kind political contribution unless the terms of the
transaction reflect the usual and normal practice of the industry and are
typical of the terms that are offered to political and non-political persons
alike, or unless the discount is given solely in order to comply with §
RSA
253.041 of the Election Code. The value of an
in-kind contribution in the form of a discount is the difference between the
fair market value of the goods or services at the time of the contribution and
the amount charged.
(20) School
district--For purposes of §
RSA
254.130 of the Election Code and
§§20.3 (relating to Reports Filed with the Commission), 20.7
(relating to Reports Filed with Other Local Filing Authority), and 20.315
(relating to Termination of Campaign Treasurer Appointment) of this title, the
term includes a junior college district or community college
district.
(21) Vendor--Any person
providing goods or services to a candidate, officeholder, political committee,
or other filer under this chapter. The term does not include an employee of the
candidate, officeholder, political committee, or other filer.
(22) Hybrid committee-A political committee
that, as provided by section 252.003(a)(4) (relating to contents of a
general-purpose committee's campaign treasurer appointment) or 252.0031(a)(2)
(relating to a specific-purpose committee's campaign treasurer appointment) of
the Election Code, as applicable, has filed a campaign treasurer appointment
that includes an affidavit stating that:
(A)
the committee is not established or controlled by a candidate or an
officeholder; and
(B) the committee
will not use any political contribution from a corporation or a labor
organization to make a political contribution to:
(i) a candidate for elective
office;
(ii) an officeholder;
or
(iii) a political commttee that
has not filed an affidavit in accordance with this section.
(23) Direct campaign
expenditure-only committee-A political committee, as authorized by section
RSA
253.105 of the Election Code (relating to
political contributions to direct campaign expenditure-only committees) to
accept political contributions from corporations or labor organizations, that:
(A) is not established or controlled by a
candidate or an officeholder;
(B)
makes or intends to make direct campaign expenditures;
(C) does not make or intend to make political
contributions to:
(i) a candidate;
(ii) an officeholder;
(iii) a specific-purpose committee
established or controlled by a candidate or an officeholder; or
(iv) a political committee that makes or
intends to make political contributions to a candidate, an officeholder, or a
specific-purpose committee established or controlled by a candidate or an
officeholder; and
(D) has
filed an affidavit with the commission stating the committee's intention to
operate as described by subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this
paragraph.
