SECTION 20.1. Definitions

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 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 §§20.221, 20.333, or 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 §§254.038 and §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 §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 §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 committee that has not filed an affidavit in accordance with this section.

(23) Direct campaign expenditure-only committee--A political committee, as authorized by section 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.

Source Note: The provisions of this §20.1 adopted to be effective December 31, 1993, 18 TexReg 9714; amended to be effective October 4, 1994, 19 TexReg 7433; amended to be effective August 6, 2006, 31 TexReg 5910; amended to be effective November 18, 2007, 32 TexReg 8305; amended to be effective September 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 5697; amended to be effective November 19, 2014, 39 TexReg 8957; amended to be effective October 26, 2015, 40 TexReg 7391; amended to be effective October 27, 2015, 40 TexReg 7392; amended to be effective December 24, 2015, 40 TexReg 9111; amended to be effective June 22, 2016, 41 TexReg 4429; amended to be effective January 1, 2018, 42 TexReg 5665;amended to be effective March 30, 2020, 45 TexReg 2155; amended to be effective July 13, 2020, 45 TexReg 4737; amended to be effective July 13, 2021, 46 TexReg 4131