(Title and Section Amended by Ord. No. 183,414, Eff. 3/13/15.)
A. To effectively serve and fulfill their responsibilities to residents of the City, elected City officers communicate with constituents, undertake efforts to assure efficient City services, and engage in professional development activities. To accomplish these duties and responsibilities, an elected City officer may control one officeholder committee to pay for expenses that relate to carrying out the duties associated with holding elected City office.
B. An individual may establish an officeholder committee once the City Clerk has certified election results indicating that the individual has been elected to City office.
C. The committee shall establish one checking account at an office of a financial institution located in the City. All contributions received in connection with the officeholder committee shall be deposited into that account.
D. An officeholder committee may not make or incur an expenditure unless it is related to assisting, serving, or communicating with constituents or otherwise made in connection with the official City duties of the elected City officer and it falls into one or more of the following categories:
1. Fundraising for the officeholder committee.
2. Office equipment, furnishings, supplies, and rent.
3. Compensation of staff employed by the officeholder committee to provide services to the committee.
4. Consulting, research, polling, photography, video or audio recording, and similar services.
5. Events, including but not limited to meetings, meals, conferences, and receptions, that are attended in the performance of governmental duties by the elected City officer or a member of the elected City officer's staff. These expenditures may include the following:
a. Fees for materials, registration, or admission.
b. Transportation to and from the event.
c. Food and beverages during the event.
d. Lodging, food and beverages, and other travel-related expenditures the day prior to, the day of, and the day following the event if the attendee cannot reasonably be housed at home. These expenditures also may be incurred and made for members of the elected City officer's immediate family and household.
e. Site fees, advertising brochures, invitations, materials and refreshments distributed to attendees, equipment, services, and other incidental expenses for events that are officially hosted or sponsored by the elected City officer.
6. Donations to an organization that has received a federal tax exemption under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) when a majority of the expenditure can be deducted as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes. A donation may be the purchase of tickets to a charitable event, provided that no substantial part of the proceeds from the event will personally benefit the elected City officer, a member of the elected City officer's immediate family or household, a member of the elected City officer's staff, the officeholder committee, or the officeholder committee's treasurer.
7. Membership of the elected City officer or a member of the elected City officer's staff to a civic or professional organization if the membership serves a governmental or legislative purpose.
8. An educational course or seminar that maintains or improves skills employed by the elected City officer or a member of the elected City officer's staff in the performance of governmental duties.
9. Advertisements and testimonials that do not support or oppose a ballot measure or the nomination, election, or recall of a candidate for elective office.
10. Officeholder communications that provide information related to City-sponsored events, government services, the requirements of the law, or the elected City officer's position on a City matter.
11. Admission to political events and related costs if both of the following apply:
a. No substantial part of the proceeds will personally benefit the elected City officer, a member of the elected City officer's immediate family or household, a member of the elected City officer's staff, the officeholder committee, or the officeholder committee's treasurer; and
b. The expenditure does not violate Subsection E.1.
12. Expressions of congratulations, appreciation, or condolence for constituents, employees, governmental officials, or other individuals with whom the elected City officer communicates in an official capacity. No more than $140 may be expended per individual recipient per event. This amount is subject to adjustment under Section 49.7.3.
13. Celebrations held by the elected City officer to honor or thank members of the elected City officer's staff or in connection with a holiday that are attended primarily by the elected City officer's staff.
14. Tax liabilities incurred by the officeholder committee.
15. Accounting, legal, and administrative services provided to the officeholder committee.
16. Unforeseen obligations of the elected City officer's campaign committee that came to the attention of the elected City officer after the campaign committee was closed or redesignated.
17. An expenditure similar to the specified expenditures if, prior to making the expenditure, the elected City officer or the officeholder committee has received advice from the Ethics Commission that the expenditure is permissible pursuant to this Subsection. The Ethics Commission shall respond to requests for approval within five business days after a request is received, unless the request is made under Charter Section 705(b).
E. Officeholder committees may not make or incur expenditures for the following:
1. Expenditures to support or oppose a ballot measure or a candidate for elective office.
2. Membership in an athletic, social, fraternal, veteran, or religious organization.
3. Supplemental compensation for City employees for performing an act required or expected of the employee in the regular course of City duties.
4. Expenditures that would violate Article 3 or 4 of Chapter 9.5 of Title 9 of the Government Code.
F. A person may not make, and an elected City officer or officeholder committee may not solicit or accept or cause to be solicited or accepted, a contribution to the officeholder committee from another person that, during a fiscal year, causes cumulative contributions from that person to exceed the per-person City campaign contribution limit that applies to the elected City officer's elected City office under Section 49.7.3 B.2.a. or Section 49.7.3 B.2.b.
1. If the per-person City campaign contribution limit increases under Section 49.7.3, the new limit applies to contributions to the officeholder committee during that fiscal year.
2. This Subsection does not prohibit an elected City officer from obtaining a personal loan of any amount and duration from a licensed financial lending institution in the regular course of business on the same terms available to members of the public.
G. The following limitations apply to City Council members and their officeholder committees.
1. A City Council member and a City Council member's officeholder committee may not solicit or accept or cause to be solicited or accepted a contribution from another person that would cause either of the following to exceed $93,000 at any time during a fiscal year:
a. The amount of contributions from all persons to the officeholder committee; or
b. The total outstanding balance of the officeholder committee's funds.
2. Funds other than public matching funds that remain in another City campaign or officeholder committee controlled by a City Council member may be transferred into the City Council member's officeholder committee. The amount of funds transferred shall not exceed $93,000 per fiscal year and shall reduce by an equal amount the contributions that may be solicited by or accepted for the officeholder committee during that fiscal year.
3. The officeholder committee may not make or incur expenditures that cumulatively exceed $93,000 in a fiscal year.
4. Contributions solicited or received or caused to be solicited or received after the City Council member leaves City Council office shall be used only to retire the officeholder committee's debt.
5. The amounts in Paragraphs 1., 2., and 3. are subject to adjustment under Section 49.7.3.
H. The following limitations apply to Citywide office holders and their officeholder committees.
1. A Citywide office holder and a Citywide office holder's officeholder committee may not solicit or accept or cause to be solicited or accepted a contribution from another person that would cause either of the following to exceed $150,000 at any time during a fiscal year:
a. The amount of contributions from all persons to the officeholder committee; or
b. The total outstanding balance of the officeholder committee's funds.
2. Funds other than public matching funds that remain in another City campaign or officeholder committee controlled by a Citywide office holder may be transferred into the Citywide office holder's officeholder committee. The amount of funds transferred shall not exceed $150,000 per fiscal year and shall reduce by an equal amount the contributions that may be solicited by or accepted for the officeholder committee during that fiscal year.
3. The officeholder committee may not make or incur expenditures that cumulatively exceed $150,000 in a fiscal year.
4. Contributions solicited or received or caused to be solicited or received after the Citywide office holder leaves Citywide office shall be used only to retire the officeholder committee's debt.
5. The amounts in Paragraphs 1., 2., and 3. are subject to adjustment under Section 49.7.3.
I. From the date the elected City officer files a Declaration of Intention to Become a Candidate with the City Clerk's office through the date of the last election for which the declaration was filed and the elected City officer appears on the ballot or is a qualified write-in candidate, the officeholder committee may make or incur only the following types of expenditures:
1. Expenditures under Paragraphs 1., 2., 3., 6., 7., 8., 12., 13., 14., 15., 16., and 17. of Subsection D.
2. Expenditures under Paragraph 5. of Subsection D. if the event is attended primarily by the officeholder's staff in the conduct of official City business.
3. Expenditures under Paragraph 10. of Subsection D. if both of the following apply:
a. The officeholder communication does not consist of more than 200 substantially similar pieces; and
b. The officeholder communication does not contain the elected City officer's name or photograph. This does not apply if the elected City officer's name appears as part of an electronic mail or Internet address or only once on a letterhead or envelope.