Texas campaign finance rules let individuals give as much as they want to most state candidates, ban direct contributions from corporations and labor unions, cap cash gifts at $100 per reporting period, impose separate per-person limits on judicial races, forbid personal use of campaign money, and require detailed public reports filed on strict deadlines. The Texas Ethics Commission administers the system under Title 15 of the Texas Election Code, and the penalties for getting it wrong run from daily late fees to a third-degree felony.1Texas Ethics Commission. Texas Election Code Title 15 – Regulating Political Funds and Campaigns
Appoint a Treasurer Before Anything Else
A candidate cannot legally accept a contribution or make a campaign expenditure until a campaign treasurer appointment is on file. The same rule applies to political committees. This is the gatekeeping step; every other rule below assumes it has been done.
The appointment is filed with the Texas Ethics Commission for statewide and multi-county filers, or with the local filing authority for county and city candidates.2Texas Ethics Commission. Filing Info TEC Candidate/Officeholder A candidate may name themselves as treasurer, which is common in smaller races. Until the form is filed, the campaign does not legally exist for finance purposes, and any money raised or spent is a violation from the first dollar.
Who Can Give, and How Much
For most Texas state offices, individuals face no dollar limit. A single person can give unlimited amounts to a candidate for Governor, a state legislative seat, or any non-judicial office.3Texas Ethics Commission. Frequently Asked Questions About the 2024 Elections That makes Texas one of the most permissive states in the country for individual political giving.
Corporations and Unions Cannot Give Directly
Section 253.094 of the Election Code prohibits corporations and labor organizations from making political contributions except in the narrow situations the statute authorizes. A violation is a third-degree felony, punishable by two to ten years in prison.1Texas Ethics Commission. Texas Election Code Title 15 – Regulating Political Funds and Campaigns Corporations and unions can still participate by funding independent expenditures or by setting up separate segregated funds (political action committees), but they cannot write checks directly to a candidate.
Cash Is Capped at $100
Even with no overall limit on individual giving, cash is a different matter. A candidate or political committee cannot accept more than $100 in cash from a single contributor during a reporting period. Anything above that has to arrive by check, credit card, or another traceable method, which is what makes the disclosure system meaningful in the first place.
Out-of-State PAC Paperwork
Money from an out-of-state political committee comes with extra documentation. Before accepting more than $500 in a reporting period from such a committee, the recipient must obtain either a certified written statement listing every person who gave more than $100 to that committee during the prior twelve months, or a certified copy of the committee’s statement of organization filed with the Federal Election Commission.4Texas Ethics Commission. Out of State Committee Guide That documentation goes with the recipient’s next campaign finance report. Voters should be able to trace where the money originated, not just which committee passed it along.
Judicial Races Have Real Contribution Limits
Judicial candidates play by a different set of rules. The Judicial Campaign Fairness Act, in Subchapter F of Chapter 253, imposes per-person contribution caps that scale with the population of the district:5Texas Ethics Commission. Judicial Campaign Fairness Act Guidelines
- Statewide judicial office: $5,000 per person
- District with more than one million residents: $5,000 per person
- District with 250,000 to one million residents: $2,500 per person
- District with fewer than 250,000 residents: $1,000 per person
The tiers keep candidates in smaller districts from raising money at the same scale as statewide candidates, and they mean that a check that would be perfectly legal for a legislative race can be illegal for a judicial one.
Personal Use of Campaign Money Is Prohibited
Candidates and officeholders cannot convert political contributions to personal use. Personal use means any expense that primarily benefits you or your family and has no connection to your role as a candidate or officeholder. A new suit for a fundraising dinner, a monthly mortgage payment, or a family vacation paid from campaign funds all cross the line.
The statute allows a short list of exceptions. Ordinary campaign expenses are fine. So are legal defense costs arising from your role as a candidate or officeholder, and federal income tax owed on interest earned by campaign funds. Legislators who do not ordinarily live in Travis County may use contributions for reasonable housing expenses during a legislative session. Outside those exceptions, campaign money stays in the campaign.
What Has to Be in a Campaign Finance Report
Disclosure thresholds in Texas are low, which is why most contributions of any real size end up in the public record. Under Section 254.031, a report must include the full name, address, and date for every contribution that exceeds $50 in the aggregate during a reporting period.1Texas Ethics Commission. Texas Election Code Title 15 – Regulating Political Funds and Campaigns Contributions of $50 or less can be reported as a lump-sum total.
Once a contributor’s aggregate hits $500 or more from a single source in a reporting period, the campaign also has to collect and report the contributor’s principal occupation and employer. The law requires at least one written or oral attempt to obtain that information if the contributor does not volunteer it.1Texas Ethics Commission. Texas Election Code Title 15 – Regulating Political Funds and Campaigns The occupation field is what lets voters spot when a single industry is heavily funding a candidate.
On the spending side, every political expenditure over $100 must be itemized with the payee’s full name and address, the amount, the date, and a description of the purpose. Loans require more: interest rate, maturity date, collateral, and the name and employer of any guarantor. In-kind contributions such as donated office space or a volunteer-organized event with paid vendors must be valued at fair market price and reported separately from cash.
The main form for candidates and officeholders is the C/OH (Candidate/Officeholder Campaign Finance Report), available on the Texas Ethics Commission website.6Texas Ethics Commission. COH Forms and Instructions Political committees use their own versions. Mislabeling entries, for instance recording a reimbursement as a direct expenditure, creates discrepancies that surface during commission review, so accurate categorization matters from day one.
Filing Deadlines
Every candidate with an active treasurer appointment files two semi-annual reports each year. The first covers January 1 through June 30 and is due July 15. The second covers July 1 through December 31 and is due January 15. These deadlines apply whether or not an election is on the horizon.
During election years, pre-election reports are added on top. The most consequential is the report due eight days before a primary, general, or special election, which captures the late-stage fundraising rush. Candidates on the ballot can also be required to file daily reports of large contributions received close to election day. The Texas Ethics Commission publishes filing schedules for each cycle.7Texas Ethics Commission. Filing Schedules
Electronic Filing Is the Default
Most filers who report to the Texas Ethics Commission must file electronically through the commission’s online system.8Texas Ethics Commission. Who Has to File Electronically Paper filing is available only to candidates and committees that meet both of two conditions: they do not use a computer to maintain campaign finance records, and they neither accept nor spend more than $20,000 in political contributions or expenditures during a calendar year. A filer claiming that exemption has to submit a sworn affidavit with every paper report confirming they still qualify.
After an electronic filing, the system returns a confirmation number that serves as proof of timely filing. Save it. Once processed, the report is posted to the commission’s searchable public database, where any voter can look up donors, expenditures, and years of a candidate’s financial activity.
What Late Filing and Violations Cost
Missing a deadline triggers an automatic penalty, and the fines escalate for the reports that matter most. For the eight-day pre-election report and the first semi-annual report following a primary or general election, the penalty is $500 on the first day the report is late, plus $100 for each additional day, up to $10,000.9Texas Ethics Commission. Enforcement and Compliance For all other campaign finance reports, including daily pre-election and runoff reports, the flat penalty is $500.
If a report stays outstanding more than 30 days, the commission sends a warning letter by registered mail. If the fine is not paid within ten days of receipt, the commission can add up to another $10,000.9Texas Ethics Commission. Enforcement and Compliance Enforcement actions are public, and an unpaid fine can follow a candidate’s record for years.
On top of late fees, the commission can assess a civil penalty of up to $5,000 or triple the amount at issue, whichever is greater, for a violation of any law it administers.10Texas Ethics Commission. Government Code Chapter 571 – Texas Ethics Commission The triple-damages structure means a campaign that hides a large contribution faces a fine that scales with the size of what was hidden.
Closing Out the Campaign
Reporting does not stop when the campaign does. As long as a treasurer appointment is on file, the candidate keeps filing semi-annual reports, even with zero activity. To end the cycle, the candidate has to formally terminate the treasurer appointment and file a final report accounting for all remaining funds.
Any leftover money must be disposed of in a way the Election Code allows. Options include donating to charity, returning contributions to donors, giving the funds to another candidate or political committee, or, for winners, using them for officeholder expenses. Pocketing the balance is not on the list. Until the final report is filed and the treasurer appointment is terminated, the clock keeps running, and so do the late penalties.