H.B. No. 2525
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to political expenditures made by a corporation or labor
  organization to finance the establishment and administration of a
  political committee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 253.100, Election Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e)
  to read as follows:
         (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 of a general-purpose
  committee. In addition to any other expenditure that is considered
  permissible under this section, a corporation may make an
  expenditure for the maintenance and operation of a general-purpose
  committee, including an expenditure for:
               (1)  office space maintenance and repairs;
               (2)  telephone and Internet services;
               (3)  office equipment;
               (4)  utilities;
               (5)  general office and meeting supplies;
               (6)  salaries for routine clerical, data entry, and
  administrative assistance necessary for the proper administrative
  operation of the committee;
               (7)  legal and accounting fees for the committee's
  compliance with this title;
               (8)  routine administrative expenses incurred in
  establishing and administering a general-purpose political
  committee;
               (9)  management and supervision of the committee,
  including expenses incurred in holding meetings of the committee's
  governing body to interview candidates and make endorsements
  relating to the committee's support;
               (10)  the recording of committee decisions;
               (11)  expenses incurred in hosting candidate forums in
  which all candidates for a particular office in an election are
  invited to participate on the same terms; or
               (12)  expenses incurred in preparing and delivering
  committee contributions.
         (c)  A labor organization may engage in activity authorized
  for a corporation by this section [Subsections (a) and (b)]. For
  purposes of this section, the members of a labor organization are
  considered to be corporate stockholders.
         (d)  A corporation or labor organization may not make
  expenditures under this section for:
               (1)  political consulting to support or oppose a
  candidate;
               (2)  telephoning or telephone banks to communicate with
  the public;
               (3)  brochures and direct mail supporting or opposing a
  candidate;
               (4)  partisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote
  drives;
               (5)  political fund-raising other than from its
  stockholders or members, as applicable, or the families of its
  stockholders or members;
               (6)  voter identification efforts, voter lists, or
  voter databases that include persons other than its stockholders or
  members, as applicable, or the families of its stockholders or
  members;
               (7)  polling designed to support or oppose a candidate
  other than of its stockholders or members, as applicable, or the
  families of its stockholders or members; or
               (8)  recruiting candidates.
         (e)  Subsection (d) does not apply to a corporation or labor
  organization making an expenditure to communicate with its
  stockholders or members, as applicable, or with the families of its
  stockholders or members as provided by Section 253.098.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a political expenditure made under Section 253.100, Election
  Code, as amended by this Act, on or after the effective date of this
  Act. A political expenditure made under Section 253.100, Election
  Code, before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
  in effect at the time the expenditure is made, and the former law is
  continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2525 was passed by the House on May
  15, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 132, Nays 12, 1 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 2525 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 125, Nays 16,
  2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2525 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 27, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 25, Nays
  6.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor