Texaseci-v0

ECIElection Campaign-Finance Index

How well is money in politics regulated and disclosed?

Finance33.3%6/18 · 15 datapoints · 5 dimensionsCompare across jurisdictions →

Dimensions

Contributions33.3%

1/3 · 3 datapoints

Disclosure40.0%

2/5 · 4 datapoints

Enforcement50.0%

2/4 · 3 datapoints

Foreign Source0.0%

0/4 · 3 datapoints

Traceability50.0%

1/2 · 2 datapoints

Contributions

33.3% · 1/3

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
CONT.1Contribution limit framework codifiedIf contribution limits exist, are they set by statute (not administrative discretion)? If no limits, is that absence explicit in statute?	1/1100.0%	§ 253.155 codifies contribution limits by statute: a judicial candidate or officeholder may not accept political contributions from a person exceeding the per-office limits set in § 253.155(b) ($5,000 statewide; $1,000-$5,000 by judicial-district population). § 253.157 codifies parallel limits on general-purpose-committee contributions, § 253.159 a family exception, and § 253.167 population-based notice of the limits. The limits are fixed in statute, not by administrative discretion (Texas imposes no general contribution limit on non-judicial candidates).	§ view source 2026-05-20
CONT.2Independent expenditure rulesAre independent-expenditure rules (third-party spending separate from candidate committees) codified in statute?	0/10.0%	No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: The FTS query surfaced § 254.0401 (internet availability of reports) and vote-harvesting / mail-application offenses, none of which codifies independent-expenditure rules. Texas regulates 'direct campaign expenditures' under § 251.001 and § 254.261, but no independent-expenditure provision was surfaced for this datapoint.	§ view source 2026-05-20
CONT.3Anonymous-contribution treatmentAre anonymous contributions (cash below the threshold, etc.) addressed in statute with a defined disposition (returned, forfeited, etc.)?	0/10.0%	No matching sections in corpus (FTS returned 0 candidates) — concept not codified in this jurisdiction's election statute.	no FTS match 2026-05-20

Disclosure

40.0% · 2/5

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
DISC.1Disclosure threshold in statuteIs the disclosure threshold (amount above which contributions must be reported) defined in statute, not regulation?	0/10.0%	No matching sections in corpus (FTS returned 0 candidates) — concept not codified in this jurisdiction's election statute.	no FTS match 2026-05-20
DISC.2Enumerated filing scheduleIs the filing schedule (pre-election, post-election, quarterly, etc.) enumerated in statute with specific deadlines?	0/10.0%	No matching sections in corpus (FTS returned 0 candidates) — concept not codified in this jurisdiction's election statute.	no FTS match 2026-05-20
DISC.3Disclosure of contributor identityDoes statute require contributor name, address, occupation, and employer be disclosed for contributions above the threshold?	2/2100.0%	§ 254.0312 codifies disclosure of contributor identity: every written solicitation must request 'the individual's full name and address, the individual's principal occupation or job title, and the full name of the individual's employer,' and a filer must use best efforts to obtain, maintain, and report that information for any individual whose contributions equal or exceed $500 in a reporting period. Contributor name, address, occupation, and employer disclosure codified. “the individual's full name and address, the individual's principal occupation or job title, and the full name of the individual's employer”	§ view source 2026-05-20
DISC.4Public access to filingsAre campaign-finance filings legally required to be publicly accessible online within a defined time of filing?	0/10.0%	No matching sections in corpus (FTS returned 0 candidates) — concept not codified in this jurisdiction's election statute.	no FTS match 2026-05-20

Enforcement

50.0% · 2/4

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
ENF.1Penalty schedule codifiedAre penalties for campaign-finance violations defined in statute with specified amounts (civil) and/or criminal grades?	2/2100.0%	Texas codifies a graded campaign-finance penalty schedule: § 253.103 makes an unlawful corporate loan a third-degree felony; § 253.037 a Class A misdemeanor; § 253.040 (separate-accounts violation) and § 254.001 (recordkeeping violation) Class B misdemeanors; and § 252.0011 imposes a civil penalty 'not to exceed three times' the unlawful contributions or expenditures. Specified civil amounts and criminal grades both codified. “An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.”	§ view source 2026-05-20
ENF.2Enforcement body independenceIs the enforcement body (election commission, attorney general, campaign-finance regulator) appointed by multi-branch process and protected from in-cycle political control?	0/10.0%	No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: The FTS query surfaced county election commissions / joint elections commissions (§ 31.032, § 31.153, § 31.154) — election-administration appointing bodies, not the campaign-finance enforcement body. The Texas Ethics Commission, which enforces Title 15, is constituted and its appointment process set under Government Code Ch. 571, outside the Election Code corpus.	§ view source 2026-05-20
ENF.3Private right of actionDoes statute provide a private right of action (citizen or party suit) for campaign-finance violations?	0/10.0%	No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: § 253.035 makes a person who converts a political contribution to personal use 'civilly liable to the state' — enforcement liability running to the state, not a private citizen or party right of action. Texas's private-suit provisions for campaign-finance harm (§ 253.131-253.132) were not surfaced for this datapoint, so no private right of action is evidenced.	§ view source 2026-05-20

Datapoint

Score

Rationale & evidence

Source

ENF.1Penalty schedule codifiedAre penalties for campaign-finance violations defined in statute with specified amounts (civil) and/or criminal grades?

2/2100.0%

Texas codifies a graded campaign-finance penalty schedule: § 253.103 makes an unlawful corporate loan a third-degree felony; § 253.037 a Class A misdemeanor; § 253.040 (separate-accounts violation) and § 254.001 (recordkeeping violation) Class B misdemeanors; and § 252.0011 imposes a civil penalty 'not to exceed three times' the unlawful contributions or expenditures. Specified civil amounts and criminal grades both codified.

“An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.”

§ view source

2026-05-20

ENF.2Enforcement body independenceIs the enforcement body (election commission, attorney general, campaign-finance regulator) appointed by multi-branch process and protected from in-cycle political control?

0/10.0%

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: The FTS query surfaced county election commissions / joint elections commissions (§ 31.032, § 31.153, § 31.154) — election-administration appointing bodies, not the campaign-finance enforcement body. The Texas Ethics Commission, which enforces Title 15, is constituted and its appointment process set under Government Code Ch. 571, outside the Election Code corpus.

§ view source

2026-05-20

ENF.3Private right of actionDoes statute provide a private right of action (citizen or party suit) for campaign-finance violations?

0/10.0%

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: § 253.035 makes a person who converts a political contribution to personal use 'civilly liable to the state' — enforcement liability running to the state, not a private citizen or party right of action. Texas's private-suit provisions for campaign-finance harm (§ 253.131-253.132) were not surfaced for this datapoint, so no private right of action is evidenced.

§ view source

2026-05-20

Foreign Source

0.0% · 0/4

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
FOR.1Foreign-source prohibitionIs direct foreign contribution to a candidate or campaign committee prohibited by statute?	0/10.0%	No matching sections in corpus (FTS returned 0 candidates) — concept not codified in this jurisdiction's election statute.	no FTS match 2026-05-20
FOR.2Indirect / pass-through foreign rulesAre indirect foreign-source channels (foreign nationals via domestic entities, foreign-controlled LLCs, etc.) addressed in statute?	0/20.0%	No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: The FTS query surfaced only § 1.019 (use of compelled evidence 'directly or indirectly derived' — a criminal-procedure provision), which is unrelated to indirect or pass-through foreign-source contribution channels. No indirect-foreign-funding rule was surfaced.	§ view source 2026-05-20
FOR.3Foreign-source verificationAre campaign committees required by statute to verify contributors are not foreign-source (vs. relying on contributor self-attestation alone)?	0/10.0%	No matching sections in corpus (FTS returned 0 candidates) — concept not codified in this jurisdiction's election statute.	no FTS match 2026-05-20

Traceability

50.0% · 1/2

Datapoint	Score	Rationale & evidence	Source
TRACE.1Records-retention requirementAre campaign committees required by statute to retain records (contributor lists, expenditure documentation, bank statements) for a defined period?	1/1100.0%	§ 254.001 codifies a records-retention requirement: each candidate, officeholder, and political-committee campaign treasurer must maintain a record of all reportable activity containing the information necessary to file the required reports, and 'shall preserve the record for at least two years beginning on the filing deadline for the report containing the information in the record.' A recordkeeping violation is a Class B misdemeanor. “shall preserve the record for at least two years beginning on the filing deadline for the report containing the information in the record”	§ view source 2026-05-20
TRACE.2Audit accessAre campaign-committee records subject to mandatory audit (post-election random sample, threshold-triggered audit, or routine cycle) under statute?	0/10.0%	No matching sections in corpus (FTS returned 0 candidates) — concept not codified in this jurisdiction's election statute.	no FTS match 2026-05-20

Datapoint

Score

Rationale & evidence

Source

TRACE.1Records-retention requirementAre campaign committees required by statute to retain records (contributor lists, expenditure documentation, bank statements) for a defined period?

1/1100.0%

§ 254.001 codifies a records-retention requirement: each candidate, officeholder, and political-committee campaign treasurer must maintain a record of all reportable activity containing the information necessary to file the required reports, and 'shall preserve the record for at least two years beginning on the filing deadline for the report containing the information in the record.' A recordkeeping violation is a Class B misdemeanor.

“shall preserve the record for at least two years beginning on the filing deadline for the report containing the information in the record”

§ view source

2026-05-20

TRACE.2Audit accessAre campaign-committee records subject to mandatory audit (post-election random sample, threshold-triggered audit, or routine cycle) under statute?

0/10.0%

No matching sections in corpus (FTS returned 0 candidates) — concept not codified in this jurisdiction's election statute.

no FTS match

2026-05-20

Other methodologies for Texas

EAdI Administration EAI Access EDRI Disputes EVCI Confidence EII Integrity