SECTION 18.10. Guidelines for Substantial Compliance for a Corrected/Amended 8-day Pre-election Report

(a) A corrected/amended 8-day pre-election report substantially complies with the applicable law and will not be assessed a late fine under §18.9 of this title (relating to Corrected/Amended Reports) if:

(1) The original report was filed in good faith and the corrected/amended report was filed not later than the 14th business day after the date the filer learned of the errors or omissions; and

(2) The only corrections/amendments needed were to correct the following types of errors or omissions:

(A) a technical, clerical, or de minimis error, including a typographical error, that is not misleading and does not substantially affect disclosure;

(B) an error in or omission of information that is solely required for the commission's administrative purposes, including a report type or filer identification number;

(C) an error that is minor in context and that, upon correction/amendment, does not result in changed monetary amounts or activity disclosed, including a descriptive change or a change to the period covered by the report;

(D) one or more errors in disclosing contributions that, in total:

(i) do not exceed $3,000; or

(ii) do not exceed the lesser of 10% of the total contributions on the corrected/amended report or $10,000;

(E) one or more errors in disclosing expenditures that, in total:

(i) do not exceed $3,000; or

(ii) do not exceed the lesser of 10% of the total expenditures on the corrected/amended report or $10,000;

(F) one or more errors in disclosing loans that, in total:

(i) do not exceed $3,000; or

(ii) do not exceed the lesser of 10% of the amount originally disclosed or $10,000; or

(G) an error in the amount of total contributions maintained that:

(i) does not exceed $3,000; or

(ii) does not exceed the lesser of 10% of the amount originally disclosed or $10,000.

(H) The only correction/amendment by a candidate or officeholder was to add to or delete from the outstanding loans total an amount of loans made from personal funds;

(I) The only correction/amendment by a political committee was to add the name of each candidate supported or opposed by the committee, when each name was originally disclosed on the appropriate schedule for disclosing political expenditures;

(J) The only correction/amendment was to disclose the actual amount of a contribution or expenditure, when:

(i) the amount originally disclosed was an overestimation;

(ii) the difference between the originally disclosed amount and the actual amount did not vary by more than 10%; and

(iii) the original report clearly included an explanation of the estimated amount disclosed and the filer's intention to file a correction/amendment as soon as the actual amount was known; or

(K) The only correction/amendment was to delete a duplicate entry.

(b) The executive director shall determine whether an 8-day pre-election report as originally filed substantially complies with applicable law by applying the criteria provided in this section.

(c) In this section, "8-day pre-election report" means a report due eight days before an election filed in accordance with the requirements of §§20.213(d), 20.325(e), or 20.425(d) of this title (relating to a candidate, a specific-purpose committee, or a general-purpose committee, respectively) and §§254.064(c), 254.124(c), or 254.154(c) of the Election Code (relating to a candidate, a specific-purpose committee, or a general-purpose committee, respectively).

Source Note: The provisions of this §18.10 adopted to be effective March 30, 2020, 45 TexReg 2154; amended to be effective January 7, 2024, 49 TexReg 37