Chapter 24.
RESTRICTIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS & EXPENDITURES APPLICABLE TO CORPORATIONS & LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
§24.1. Corporations and Certain Associations Covered
§24.15. Payments to a Corporation of the Candidate or Officeholder
§24.17. Corporate Expenditures for Get-Out-the-Vote Campaigns Permitted
§24.18. Designation of Contribution for Administrative Purposes
§24.1. Corporations and Certain Associations Covered
(a) This chapter applies to:
(1) labor organizations;
(2) corporations that are organized under the Texas Business Corporation Act, the Texas For-Profit Corporation Law, the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act, the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Law, federal law, or the laws of another state or nation; and
(3) the following associations, whether incorporated or not, which for purposes of this chapter are considered to be corporations covered by this chapter:
(A) banks;
(B) trust companies;
(C) savings and loan associations or companies;
(D) insurance companies;
(E) reciprocal or interinsurance exchanges;
(F) railroad companies;
(G) cemetery companies;
(H) government-regulated cooperatives;
(I) stock companies; and
(J) abstract and title insurance companies.
(b) For purposes of this chapter, members of a corporation that does not have stockholders and members of an association listed in subsection (a)(3) of this section are considered to be stockholders.
(c) This chapter does not apply to a political committee that incorporates for liability purposes only in accordance with subsection (d) of this section, provided that the sole principal purpose of the committee is accepting political contributions and making political expenditures.
(d) A political committee may incorporate to limit its liability by providing in its official incorporation documents that it is a political committee that is incorporating for liability purposes only, and that its only principal purpose is to accept political contributions and make political expenditures.
(a) A corporation may not make a loan to a candidate, officeholder, or political committee for campaign or officeholder purposes unless:
(1) the corporation has been legally and continuously engaged in the business of lending money for at least one year before the loan is made; and
(2) the loan is made in the due course of business.
(b) This section does not apply to a loan to a political committee that supports or opposes measures exclusively.
§24.15. Payments to a Corporation of the Candidate or Officeholder
(a) If a corporation charges a candidate, officeholder, or specific-purpose committee for supporting or assisting a candidate or officeholder less than fair market value for goods or services in order to comply with section 253.041(b) of the Election Code, the discount is not a prohibited corporate contribution.
(b) If the discount is greater than is necessary to comply with section 253.041(b) of the Election Code, the discount is a prohibited corporate contribution if the discount is not otherwise authorized by this chapter.
§24.17. Corporate Expenditures for Get-Out-the-Vote Campaigns Permitted
(a) An expenditure to finance a voter registration or get-out-the-vote drive is not a political expenditure if the drive encourages voting in general but does not encourage voting for or against a measure, candidate, officeholder, or political party.
(b) A corporation or labor organization is permitted to make an expenditure described in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) A corporate or labor organization expenditure described by subsection (a) of this section is not reportable.
§24.18. Designation of Contribution for Administrative Purposes
(a) Any of the following will serve to designate a political expenditure in the form of a political contribution made by a corporation or labor organization as restricted to the establishment, administration, maintenance, or operation of a general-purpose committee:
(1) A contemporaneous written instruction that the contribution is restricted to the administration, maintenance, or operation of the committee accepting the contribution;
(2) The negotiable instrument conveying the contribution contains language indicating that the entity is a corporation, including but not limited to "Inc.," "Incorporated," "Corp.," or "Corporation;"
(3) The general-purpose committee accepting the contribution reports the contribution as monetary contribution or monetary support from a corporation or labor organization on the committee's campaign finance report; or
(4) The general-purpose committee accepting the contribution deposits the contribution into a separate segregated account for political contributions from corporations and labor organizations.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section shall not be read to restrict a hybrid committee, a direct campaign expenditure-only committee, or a political committee that supports or opposes measures exclusively from using a contribution from a corporation or labor organization to make a direct campaign expenditure.
§24.19. Affidavit Required by a Political Committee Making a Direct Campaign Expenditure from a Political Contribution Accepted from a Corporation or Labor Organization.
A political committee, including a direct campaign expenditure-only committee, must include in its campaign treasurer appointment the affidavit described 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 contents of a specific-purpose committee’s campaign treasurer appointment) of the Election Code, as applicable, before using a political contribution from a corporation or labor organization to make a direct campaign expenditure in connection with a campaign for an elective office.