HB 1585 by Geren: Overstep on Reforming Campaign Finance Law

HB 1585 seeks to update several statutes administered and enforced by the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) to clarify campaign finance filing requirements and revise lobbyist regulations to better facilitate efficient disclosure and meaningful transparency by those who spend money in an effort to influence elections or legislative outcomes. However, there are provisions in HB 1585 that are likely unconstitutional, namely that it makes all legislative speech subject to campaign finance law. This is an overstep by TEC which has been found multiple times to violate the rights of activists and voters, and for this reason, TFR opposes HB 1585.