Tex. Elec. Code § 253.155 · Subchapter F. JUDICIAL CAMPAIGN FAIRNESS ACT
CONTRIBUTION LIMITS.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A judicial candidate or officeholder may not knowingly accept political contributions from a person that, in the aggregate, exceed the contribution limits prescribed by Subsection (b) in connection with each election in which the judicial candidate's name appears on the ballot.
(b) The contribution limits under this section are:
(1) for a statewide judicial office, $5,000; or
(2) for any other judicial office:
(A) $1,000, if the population of the judicial district is less than 250,000;
(B) $2,500, if the population of the judicial district is 250,000 to one million; or
(C) $5,000, if the population of the judicial district is more than one million.
(c) This section does not apply to a political contribution made by a general-purpose committee.
(d) Repealed by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 384 (H.B. 3233), Sec. 17(1), eff. June 2, 2019.
(d-1) In addition to the contribution limits imposed on each contributor under this section, a judicial candidate or officeholder may not accept a political contribution in excess of $50 from a person if:
(1) the person is part of a law firm group; and
(2) the contribution, when aggregated with all political contributions accepted by the candidate or officeholder from the same law firm group in connection with the election, would exceed six times the applicable contribution limit under this section.
(e) A person who receives a political contribution that violates this section shall return the contribution to the contributor not later than the later of:
(1) the last day of the reporting period in which the contribution is received; or
(2) the fifth day after the date the contribution is received.
(f) A person who violates this section is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed three times the amount of the political contributions accepted in violation of this section.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 763, Sec. 1, eff. June 16, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1096, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 384 (H.B. 3233), Sec. 4, eff. June 2, 2019.
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 384 (H.B. 3233), Sec. 17(1), eff. June 2, 2019.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/EL/htm/EL.253.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 de051134aad29d9132a8f07a610d2b2a044cc7374d1ccae8960c94913f0876f8
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Cited by 5 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Elec. Code § 253.155. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Election Code
- Tex. Elec. Code § 253.159EXCEPTION TO CONTRIBUTION LIMITS.Printed as Section 253.155
- Tex. Elec. Code § 253.1601CONTRIBUTION TO CERTAIN COMMITTEES CONSIDERED CONTRIBUTION TO CANDIDATE OR OFFICEHOLDER.Printed as Sections 253.155 and 253.157
- Tex. Elec. Code § 253.162RESTRICTIONS ON REIMBURSEMENT OF PERSONAL FUNDS AND PAYMENTS ON CERTAIN LOANS.Printed as Section 253.155
- Tex. Elec. Code § 253.1621APPLICATION OF CONTRIBUTION AND REIMBURSEMENT LIMITS TO CERTAIN CANDIDATES.Printed as Section 253.155 or 253.157 | Sections 253.155 and 253.157
- Tex. Elec. Code § 253.171CONTRIBUTION FROM OR DIRECT CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE BY POLITICAL PARTY.Printed as Section 253.155 or 253.157
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.