Bill Text: TX SB345 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the prohibition on lobbying by certain elected officers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-11-13 - Filed [SB345 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-SB345-Introduced.html

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89R4305 CJD-F
By: Eckhardt S.B. No. 345

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prohibition on lobbying by certain elected
officers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 141.001, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read
as follows:
(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or
appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:
(1) be a United States citizen;
(2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the
term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as
applicable;
(3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a
court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the
right to vote;
(4) have not been finally convicted of a felony from
which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from
the resulting disabilities;
(5) have resided continuously in the state for 12
months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six
months immediately preceding the following date:
(A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a
general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing
deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;
(B) for an independent candidate, the date of the
regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place
on the ballot;
(C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the
election at which the candidate's name is written in;
(D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any
method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is
made; and
(E) for an appointee to an office, the date the
appointment is made;
(6) on the date described by Subdivision (5), be
registered to vote in the territory from which the office is
elected; [and]
(7) not be required to register as a lobbyist under
Chapter 305, Government Code; and
(8) satisfy any other eligibility requirements
prescribed by law for the office.
(e) Subsection (a)(7) does not apply to:
(1) an office of a political subdivision with a
population of 150,000 or less, other than the office of presiding
officer of the governing body of the political subdivision,
provided that the officeholder does not receive a salary or wage for
that office; or
(2) the office of the presiding officer of the
governing body of a political subdivision with a population of
50,000 or less, provided that the presiding officer does not
receive a salary or wage for that office.
(f) For purposes of Subsection (e), a presiding officer or
other officeholder is not considered to have received a salary or
wage if the officeholder refuses to accept a salary or wage offered
or budgeted for that office.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 305, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 305.0031 to read as follows:
Sec. 305.0031. REGISTRATION BY CERTAIN ELECTED OFFICERS
PROHIBITED. (a) An individual may not register under this chapter
if the individual is a:
(1) member of Congress;
(2) member of the legislature; or
(3) statewide officeholder.
(b) An individual's registration under this chapter expires
on the date the individual takes an office described by Subsection
(a).
SECTION 3. Chapter 601, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 601.010 to read as follows:
Sec. 601.010. REGISTRATION AS LOBBYIST BY ELECTED OFFICER
PROHIBITED. (a) An individual may not qualify for a public
elective office if the individual is required to register as a
lobbyist under Chapter 305.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to:
(1) an office for which the federal or state
constitution prescribes exclusive qualification requirements;
(2) an office of a political subdivision with a
population of 150,000 or less, other than the office of presiding
officer of the governing body of the political subdivision,
provided that the officeholder does not receive a salary or wage for
that office; or
(3) the office of the presiding officer of the
governing body of a political subdivision with a population of
50,000 or less, provided that the presiding officer does not
receive a salary or wage for that office.
(c) For purposes of Subsection (b), a presiding officer or
other officeholder is not considered to have received a salary or
wage if the officeholder refuses to accept a salary or wage offered
or budgeted for that office.
SECTION 4. Section 141.001(a), Election Code, as amended by
this Act, and Section 601.010, Government Code, as added by this
Act, apply only to the eligibility and qualification requirements
for a candidate or officer whose term of office will begin on or
after the effective date of this Act. The eligibility and
qualification requirements for a candidate or officer whose term of
office will begin before the effective date of this Act are governed
by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this
Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 12, 2027.