HBA-KDB H.B. 4 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 4 By: Gallego Judicial Affairs 2/21/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Judges are charged with the task of objective interpretation of the laws of our state, yet the present campaign finance system allows lawyers, who have a vital interest in judicial decisions, to donate large amounts of money to judicial campaigns. Since law firms are the biggest donors to judicial campaigns, their contributions can have an impact on the composition of statewide courts. The vulnerabilities of our present system have even drawn national attention. House Bill 4 provides for nonpartisan election of certain justices and judges, regulates political contributions and expenditures in statewide judicial campaigns, and provides for public financing for such campaigns. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Ethics Commission in SECTION 2.01 (Sec. 259.052, Election Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 4 amends the Election Code to provide that a justice or judge is subject to nonpartisan election at the last nonpartisan judicial general election to be held before the date the term of a justice or judge expires. The bill applies only to the offices of chief justice and justice of the supreme court and presiding judge and judge of the court of criminal appeals (Secs. 259.001 and 291.001). The bill prohibits the nomination for a nonpartisan judicial office by a political party and requires the secretary of state to prescribe any additional procedures necessary for the orderly and proper administration of the judicial elections (Secs. 291.002 and 291.004). The bill provides requirements regarding the application for a place on the nonpartisan judicial election ballot, the filing fee or a valid petition for such an application, the appropriate person with whom to file the application and the regular and extended filing deadlines (Secs. 291.021 - 291.026 and 291.053). The bill also sets forth provisions regarding the certification of names for placement on the nonpartisan judicial general election ballot by the secretary of state (Sec. 291.027). The bill sets forth provisions regarding the withdrawal, death, or ineligibility of a candidate in a nonpartisan judicial election, omitting such candidates from the ballot, and placing such candidates on the ballot if the candidate dies or becomes ineligible after the 65th day before election day (Secs. 291.051, 291.052, 291.059, and 291.055). The bill requires the nonpartisan judicial offices and candidates to be listed following the partisan offices as a separate ballot in the general election ballot under the heading "Election for Nonpartisan Judicial Offices" (Secs. 291.071 and 52.092). The bill requires the nonpartisan judicial election to be conducted and the results canvassed, tabulated, and reported in the same manner applicable to partisan offices in the general election for state and county officers (Sec. 291.072). The bill modifies provisions regarding the general election for state and county officers and sets the place and order of the nonpartisan judicial offices on the ballot (Secs. 41.002 and 52.092). The bill sets forth provisions regarding the filing deadline for application of a nonpartisan judicial candidate for a vacancy in a nonpartisan judicial office (Sec. 202.008). The bill establishes the judicial campaign finance fund (fund) in the state treasury. The fund consists of: _amounts transferred by the comptroller of public accounts (comptroller) to the fund from the general revenue fund; _amounts refunded from the candidate after the judicial election, or from a candidate who withdraws from an election or is declared ineligible, that have not been expended or contractually obligated; _amounts paid to the commission by the candidate from the remainder of political contributions that exceed $30,000; _amounts appropriated to the fund; and _amounts received by the commission or comptroller as a gift or grant to the fund. The bill provides requirements for the comptroller to transfer certain money to the judicial campaign financing fund. The bill provides that the commission must certify to the comptroller that a person is eligible to receive public financing, and authorizes the money in the fund to be used for preparation of a voter pamphlet (Sec. 259.051). The bill provides that by accepting money from the judicial campaign financing fund (fund), a candidate agrees not to accept political contributions not authorized by the provisions for public financing of statewide judicial campaigns (Sec. 259.003). The bill sets forth the requirements for a candidate to be eligible for public financing, certification of the candidate to be conditionally eligible, and the petition filed in connection of a request for public financing (Secs. 259.011, 259.012, and 259.013). The bill sets forth provisions regarding the required campaign contributions a candidate for a nonpartisan judicial office must accept and receive (Sec. 259.014). The bill sets forth provisions regarding the certification of a candidate as eligible by the Texas Ethics Commission (commission) and the verification of the petition filed for public financing (Secs. 259.015 and 259.016). The bill requires the commission to adopt rules prescribing the total amount of public financing to which a nonpartisan judicial candidate for an office is entitled in a specified time period. The bill sets forth requirements for the commission to determine the amount to which a candidate is entitled, and requires the commission to prescribe identical amounts for specified offices. The bill provides that the amounts for chief justice or presiding judge must be greater than the amounts for justice or judge. The bill provides that the rules adopted by the commission must specify the amount of each monthly distribution from the fund. The bill prohibits the amount of any monthly distribution from being substantially greater than the amount of any other monthly distribution (Sec. 259.052). The bill sets forth provisions regarding distributions from the fund, and restrictions on the use of fund money (Secs. 259.053 and 259.054). The bill requires a candidate, after the nonpartisan judicial election, or a candidate who withdraws from the election or becomes ineligible to refund amounts from the fund that have not been expended or contractually obligated. The bill requires such candidates to make the refund to the comptroller, who is required to deposit the refund to the credit of the fund, not later than the 30th day after the date of the nonpartisan judicial general election. The bill provides that a candidate is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed three times the amount of the money required to be refunded that was not refunded (Sec. 259.055 and 259.056). The bill prohibits a candidate or officeholder who accepts public financing or a specific-purpose committee for supporting or opposing such a candidate or assisting such an officeholder from accepting a political contribution in connection with the office for which the candidate or officeholder accepted public financing. The bill provides that a candidate is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed three times the amount of the money required to be refunded that was not refunded (Sec. 259.101). The bill prohibits a candidate or officeholder who accepts public financing or a specific-purpose committee for supporting or opposing such a candidate or assisting such an officeholder from using a political contribution to make a campaign expenditure for the office for which the candidate or officeholder accepted public financing, or to make an officeholder expenditure in connection with that office if the contribution was accepted while the candidate or officeholder was: _ a candidate for an office other than the office for which the candidate or officeholder accepted public financing; or _held an office other than the office for which the candidate or officeholder accepted public financing, unless the person had become a candidate for that office and a contribution of $30,000 was accepted. The bill provides that a candidate is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed three times the amount of the money used in violation of these provisions (Sec. 259.102). The bill sets forth that the provisions regarding restricted political contributions do not apply to certain officeholders who accepted public financing and who seeks reelection to the office for which the officeholder accepted public financing or election to another judicial office if the officeholder files a written statement with the commission that the officeholder will not request public financing for the reelection or election. The bill provides that a person who violates the preceding provisions is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed three times the amount of the political contribution (Sec. 259.103). The bill authorizes an officeholder who accepts public financing to retain and use for officeholder purposes the unexpended amount, if any, of the political contributions accepted during the petition process for public financing and in the specified period prior to the date on application for a place on the ballot is filed (Sec. 259.104). The bill sets forth provisions regarding an informational statement a nonpartisan judicial candidate is authorized to file with the secretary of state to be included in the voter information pamphlet for that election (Sec. 259.132). The bill specifies what an informal statement must include and requires the secretary of state to prescribe the format and length of a candidate's statement (Sec. 259.133). The secretary of state is required to review a statement, and is authorized to reject a statement in which case a candidate is authorized to resubmit a statement subject to the prescribed deadline (Sec. 259.134). The bill sets forth provisions regarding the preparation and printing of the voter information pamphlet after soliciting bids for that work, and the distribution of the pamphlet by the secretary of state (Secs. 259.135 and 259.136) . The bill prohibits a candidate for or holder of a statewide judicial office from knowingly accepting a political contribution from: _a person licensed to practice law in this state; _a law firm; _a political committee established or controlled by a law firm; _a general-purpose committee in which the previous three entities listed above constitute 20 percent or more of the committee's total membership; _a general-purpose committee that, in the preceding three calendar years, or, if the committee has not been in existence for at least three calendar years, in the period beginning on the date the committee filed its initial campaign treasurer appointment and ending on the preceding December 31, has accepted political contributions from a person licensed to practice law in this state, a law firm, or a political committee established or controlled by a law firm that, in the aggregate, exceed 20 percent of the total amount of political contributions accepted by the committee during the specified periods; _a general-purpose committee that has not been in existence for at least 12 months before the date the contribution is accepted; _a person who, at the time of the contribution is accepted, is a party to an action pending in a district court, a court of appeals, the supreme court, or the court of criminal appeals; or _a person who has a substantial interest in a business entity that, at the time the contribution is accepted, is a party to an action pending in a district court, a court of appeals, the supreme court, or the court of criminal appeals. A person who violates the provisions prohibiting certain contributions in connection with statewide judicial offices commits a Class A misdemeanor. (Sec. 253.1571) EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.