HBA-RBT H.B. 1959 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1959 By: Danburg Elections 3/12/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, state ethics laws require candidates and officeholders to file campaign finance disclosure reports on paper or computer disk with the Texas Ethics Commission. The process of obtaining a copy of this report can be time consuming and costly. H.B. 1959 requires a candidate to deliver a copy of the candidate's report to each opponent at the same time that the candidate is required to file the report with the Texas Ethics Commission. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 254, Election Code, by adding Section 254.0612, as follows: Sec. 254.0612. COPY OF REPORT TO BE DELIVERED TO OPPONENTS. Requires a candidate who is required to file reports with the Texas Ethics Commission under this subchapter to deliver a copy of the report to each opponent of the candidate whose name is to appear on the ballot. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.