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Reporting Staff Reimbursement

The following rule was adopted by the Texas Ethics Commission to allow a simplified method for reporting the use of political funds to reimburse a staff member for political expenditures made from the staff member's personal funds. (Section 571.064(b) of the Government Code requires the Commission to annually adjust reporting thresholds upward to the nearest multiple of $10 in accordance with the percentage increase for the previous year in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor.)

§ 20.62. Reporting Staff Reimbursement

(a) Political expenditures made out of personal funds by a staff member of an officeholder, a candidate, or a political committee with the intent to seek reimbursement from the officeholder, candidate, or political committee that in the aggregate do not exceed $7,010 during the reporting period may be reported as follows IF the reimbursement occurs during the same reporting period that the initial expenditure was made:

(1) the amount of political expenditures that in the aggregate exceed $220 and that are made during the reporting period, the full name and address of the persons to whom the expenditures are made and the dates and purposes of the expenditures; and

(2) included with the total amount or a specific listing of the political expenditures of $220 or less made during the reporting period.

(b) Except as provided by subsection (a) of this section, a political expenditure made out of personal funds by a staff member of an officeholder, a candidate, or a political committee with the intent to seek reimbursement from the officeholder, candidate, or political committee must be reported as follows:

(1) the aggregate amount of the expenditures made by the staff member as of the last day of the reporting period is reported as a loan to the officeholder, candidate, or political committee;

(2) the expenditure made by the staff member is reported as a political expenditure by the officeholder, candidate, or political committee; and

(3) the reimbursement to the staff member to repay the loan is reported as a political expenditure by the officeholder, candidate, or political committee.

Examples:

When a staff member makes political payment(s) out of his or her personal funds, how you disclose the payment(s) depends on two things: 1) the aggregate total of those payments in the reporting period; and 2) whether or not you reimburse the staff worker in the same reporting period.

Example #1: The payment out of the staff worker's personal funds does not exceed $7,010 in the reporting period and you reimburse the staff worker from political funds in the same reporting period - You will simply itemize the payment (if over the $220 itemization threshold) on Schedule F1 as if you made the expenditure directly to the vendor out of your political funds, with the name of the vendor who sold the goods or services as the payee for the expenditure. Do not disclose as the payee the name of your staff worker.

Example #2: The payment(s) out of the staff worker's personal funds are over $7,010 in the aggregate in the reporting period and you reimburse the staff worker from political funds in the same reporting period - You will use a 3-step process, disclosing everything on the same report:

(1) On Schedule E, disclose the total amount paid from the staff worker's personal funds as a loan from the staff worker to your campaign;

(2) On Schedule F1, itemize the payments made by your staff worker separately, with the names of the vendors who sold the goods or services to your staff worker as the payees for the expenditures. Do not disclose as the payee the name of your staff worker; and

(3) On Schedule F1, disclose the payment to your staff worker for the reimbursement of the loan.

Example #3: The payment(s) out of the staff worker's personal funds do not exceed $7,010 in the aggregate in the reporting period but you reimburse the staff worker from political funds in a different reporting period - You will use a 3-step process, disclosing steps 1 and 2 on the same report and step 3 later, when the reimbursement occurs:

(1) On Schedule E, disclose the total amount paid from the staff worker's personal funds as a loan from the staff worker to your campaign;

(3) When you reimburse your staff worker, if ever, disclose on Schedule F1 of the report covering the period in which the reimbursement occurs the payment to your staff worker for the reimbursement of the loan.