Relating to address information contained on reports of political contributions and expenditures made available on the Internet by the Texas Ethics Commission.
ModeratePlan for compliance
Low Cost
Effective:2025-06-20
Enforcing Agencies
Texas Ethics Commission
01
Compliance Analysis
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Implementation Timeline
Effective Date: June 20, 2025
Compliance Deadline:January 1, 2026 (Applies to all reports filed on or after this date).
Agency Rulemaking: The Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) must update the Electronic Filing System and prescribed forms prior to January 1, 2026. Expect technical specifications for data entry in Q4 2025.
Immediate Action Plan
1.Audit Payee Database: Immediately review your master vendor list. Tag all recurring payees (consultants, staff, reimbursed members) as "Residential" or "Commercial."
2.Update Forms: Modify your PAC check request forms and vendor intake sheets to capture this data point immediately; do not wait for the software update.
3.Contact Software Vendors: Confirm with your compliance software provider that they are aware of the HB551 requirement and will have the field ready for the January semiannual report.
4.Notify Vendors: Send a notice to your independent contractors informing them of this new privacy protection and requesting they confirm their address status.
Operational Changes Required
Contracts
Consulting Agreements: Update engagement letters for political consultants and independent contractors. Insert a clause requiring the payee to formally designate their billing address as "Residential" or "Commercial/Business."
Confidentiality: Review confidentiality provisions; you can now assure contractors that their home addresses will be statutorily redacted from public view if properly designated.
Hiring/Training
Accounts Payable/Treasury: Staff must be trained to stop "auto-filling" addresses. They must verify the nature of the address for every new vendor or reimbursement.
Internal Protocols: Establish a default protocol for ambiguous cases (e.g., "If unsure, request clarification; do not guess").
Reporting & Record-Keeping
Vendor Onboarding: Update internal W-9 or vendor setup forms to include a mandatory checkbox: *"Is this address a residence? (Yes/No)."*
Reimbursement Logs: Employee reimbursement forms must indicate if the check is being mailed to a home address.
Filing Software: If you use third-party compliance software (e.g., Aristotle, NGP), ensure your provider updates their API to interface with the new TEC field before the January deadline.
Fees & Costs
State Fees: None.
Operational Costs: Minimal. Limited to administrative time for database auditing and potential minor fees from third-party software vendors for system upgrades.
Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations
PO Boxes vs. Physical Addresses: The statute specifies "residence address." A PO Box is generally not considered a residence. Consequently, a PO Box may offer *less* privacy than a home address under this law, as the home address will be redacted to City/State/Zip, while a PO Box number may remain fully visible.
Mixed-Use Properties: The law does not define how to categorize "live-work" units or home offices used primarily for business. Until TEC rulemaking clarifies, filers should prioritize the "Residence" designation if the individual sleeps at the location, to avoid privacy liability.
Liability for Misclassification: It is unclear if the TEC will penalize filers for marking a commercial address as "Residential" (potentially seen as obscuring transparency) versus the liability of failing to mark a "Residential" address (exposing a vendor to privacy risks).
Need Help Understanding Implementation?
Our government affairs experts can walk you through this bill's specific impact on your operations.
Information presented is for general knowledge only and is provided without warranty, express or implied. Consult qualified government affairs professionals and legal counsel before making compliance decisions.
The bill author has informed the committee that requiring volunteers, advocates, and paid employees to provide their residential address on a public document as compensation for contributing time, resources, or labor to a campaign for a candidate that they support presents dangerous situations and that campaigns often attract volunteers who are still minors but who are passionate about the political system. Additionally, the bill author has informed the committee that publicly posting someone's address leaves them vulnerable to harassment or worse by a bad actor, political opponent, or corrupt official. Currently, the Texas Ethics Commission requires that individuals on campaign finance reports disclose an address, which is then made publicly available. The bill author further informed the committee that, while it is important to have the addresses of those who donate to or receive money from a campaign on record, it is not necessary to have that specific information available to the general public. H.B. 551 provides for the removal of the residential address of an individual listed as having received a political expenditure, other than the city, state, and zip code of that address, before making such a report available on the Internet.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
H.B. 551 amends the Election Code to require the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC), in prescribing the format of a campaign finance report, to ensure the report includes a space to indicate whether the address of an individual listed as having received a political expenditure is a residence address. The bill requires the TEC, before making such a report available on the Internet, to remove each portion of the residence address of an individual listed as having received a political expenditure, other than the city, state, and zip code of that address, if the individual's address is indicated in that space on the report as being a residence address. The bill applies only to a report that is required to be filed on or after January 1, 2026.
Honorable Ken King, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB551 by Swanson (Relating to address information contained on reports of political contributions and expenditures made available on the Internet by the Texas Ethics Commission.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
It is assumed that costs related to the modification of the Electronic Filing System at the Texas Ethics Commission could be absorbed within existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
356 Texas Ethics Commission
LBB Staff:
JMc, WP, GP
Related Legislation
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HB551 creates a new affirmative duty for all Chapter 254 filers (PACs, candidates, officeholders) to designate whether a political expenditure recipient’s address is a residence. This triggers automatic redaction of the street address from public internet reports, extending privacy protections previously reserved for contributors to vendors and staff. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 Compliance Deadline: January 1, 2026 (Applies to all reports filed on or after this date).
Q
Who authored HB551?
HB551 was authored by Texas Representative Valoree Swanson during the Regular Session.
Q
When was HB551 signed into law?
HB551 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
Q
Which agencies enforce HB551?
HB551 is enforced by Texas Ethics Commission.
Q
How urgent is compliance with HB551?
The compliance urgency for HB551 is rated as "moderate". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
Q
What is the cost impact of HB551?
The cost impact of HB551 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
Q
What topics does HB551 address?
HB551 addresses topics including elections, elections--campaign financing, protection of personal information, ethics commission, texas and political contributions.
Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025
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