(a) A technical, clerical, or de minimis violation
for purposes of §571.0631 of the Government Code may include
a first-time allegation against a respondent for:
(1) Typographical or incomplete information on a campaign
finance report that is not misleading and does not substantially affect
disclosure;
(2) Failure to include a disclosure statement on political
advertising;
(3) Failure of a non-incumbent to use the word "for"
in a campaign communication that is not otherwise misleading;
(4) Failure to include the highway right-of-way notice
on political advertising;
(5) Using a representation of the state seal by a person
who is not an officeholder in political advertising that is not otherwise
misleading;
(6) Filing a late campaign finance report that is not
a report due 30 or 8 days before an election or a special pre-election
report, and the alleged violations do not substantially affect disclosure;
(7) Filing an incomplete or corrected campaign finance
report that is not a report due 30 or 8 days before an election or
a special pre-election report if:
(A) the total amount of incomplete or incorrectly reported
political contributions does not exceed the lesser of 10% of the total
amount of political contributions on the corrected report, or $5,000;
(B) the total amount of incomplete or incorrectly reported
political expenditures does not exceed the lesser of 10% of the total
amount of political expenditures on the corrected report, or $5,000;
or
(C) the total amount of incomplete or incorrectly reported
political contributions or political expenditures does not exceed
the amount of the filing fee for a place on the ballot for the office
sought or held by the respondent during the period covered by the
report at issue, or, if there is not a set filing fee, $500;
(8) Filing an incomplete or corrected campaign finance
report if the incomplete or corrected information is not misleading
and does not substantially affect disclosure, including:
(A) the filer's full name, address, office sought,
or office held;
(B) the identity and date of the election for which
the report is filed;
(C) the campaign treasurer's full name, address, or
telephone number;
(D) the full name of each identified candidate or measure
or classification by party of candidates supported or opposed by a
political committee;
(E) the full name of each identified officeholder or
classification by party of officeholders assisted by a political committee;
(F) the amount of total political contributions maintained
as of the last day of the reporting period, if the error is a de minimis
error as defined by §20.50 of this title;
(G) the purpose of a political expenditure; or
(H) the period covered by the report;
(9) Failure to timely file a campaign treasurer appointment
if, before filing the campaign treasurer appointment, the total amount
of political contributions accepted does not exceed $2,500 and the
total amount of political expenditures made or authorized does not
exceed $2,500;
(10) Failure to disclose information related to an
out-of-state political committee required by §20.29 or §22.7
of this title if the total amount of political contributions accepted
from the committee does not exceed $10,000 and the contributions are
otherwise properly disclosed;
(11) Failure to disclose the principal occupation,
job title, or employer of a contributor if the total amount of political
contributions accepted from the contributor does not exceed $15,000
and the contributions are otherwise properly disclosed;
(12) As a general-purpose committee, making a political
contribution to another general-purpose committee without including
in its campaign treasurer appointment the name of the recipient committee
before making the contribution, if the contributing committee properly
disclosed the contribution;
(13) Failure to file a termination report required
by §20.317 or §20.417 of this title if the period covered
by the termination report is included in a subsequently filed report;
(14) Filing a campaign finance report without using
the form prescribed by the commission if the report:
(A) discloses all the information required by chapter
254 of the Election Code and this title;
(B) is substantially similar in size and format to
the form prescribed by the commission; and
(C) is not misleading and does not substantially affect
disclosure;
(15) Making a political contribution prohibited by
§253.1611, Election Code, if the contribution does not exceed
the limits by more than $1,000 and the amount in excess is returned
to the contributor; or
(16) Failure to timely respond to a sworn complaint
if the response is no more than 30 days late and the respondent shows
good cause for the late response.
(b) A technical, clerical, or de minimis violation
for purposes of §571.0631 of the Government Code may include
allegations against a respondent for:
(1) Typographical or incomplete information on a campaign
finance report that is not misleading or does not substantially affect
disclosure;
(2) Filing an incomplete or corrected campaign finance
report if:
(A) the total amount of incomplete or incorrectly reported
political contributions does not exceed the lesser of 5% of the total
amount of political contributions on the corrected report, or $2,500;
or
(B) the total amount of incomplete or incorrectly reported
political expenditures does not exceed the lesser of 5% of the total
amount of political expenditures on the corrected report, or $2,500;
or
(3) Filing an incomplete or inaccurate campaign finance
report by a general-purpose committee if, during the period covered
by the report and during each of the two reporting periods preceding
the period covered by the report, the committee did not:
(A) accept political contributions totaling $3,000
or more;
(B) accept political contributions from a single person
totaling $1,000 or more; or
(C) make political expenditures totaling $3,000 or
more.
(c) During the review of a sworn complaint under Chapter
571, Subchapter E of the Government Code, if the executive director
determines that all the alleged violations are technical, clerical,
or de minimis under subsection (a) of this section, the executive
director may enter into an assurance of voluntary compliance with
the respondent. Before entering into an assurance of voluntary compliance,
the executive director may require a respondent to correct the violations.
(d) During the review of a sworn complaint under Chapter
571, Subchapter E of the Government Code, if the executive director
determines that all the alleged violations are technical, clerical,
or de minimis under subsection (b) of this section, the executive
director may enter into an agreed resolution with the respondent.
Before entering into an agreed resolution, the executive director
may require a respondent to correct the violations.
(e) An assurance of voluntary compliance or an agreed
resolution entered into under this section is confidential under §571.140
of the Government Code.
(f) An assurance of voluntary compliance or an agreed
resolution entered into under this section may include a penalty not
to exceed $500.
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