Texas Number of the Week:

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In Texas, filers of campaign finance reports to the Texas Ethics Commission are not required to include itemized detail (donor name, employer, amount, and date) for donations under a certain threshold. Currently, that threshold is $90. Those small donations are still included in the contribution total, but filers are allowed to report all donations under $90 as subtotal, rather than an itemized list.

There’s a (fairly recent) wrinkle to this rule that seems to have tripped up the campaign team of more than one Texas candidate this cycle. Since 2019, the simple lump sum reporting option does not apply to donations made online. Online donations represent a growing percentage of small-dollar contributions, and those donations must be itemized in TEC reports to include the donors name, address, and date of transaction.

Candidates like Ken Paxton ([link removed]) and Beto O’Rourke ([link removed]) have made headlines since the initial January campaign finance data was released for not correctly itemizing transaction details for “contributions made electronically.” Whatever the reason for reporting errors, amendments to Texas campaign finance reports are fairly common. The TEC rules are frequently updated between cycles, leaving plenty of room for error. Each cycle, the TEC urges filers to submit early and ask for help to ensure all documents are filed correctly.
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