Hon. AlwinE, Pape Opinion No. V-1509

County Attorney Guadalupe County Re: Statements of campaign conSeguin, Texas tributions andexpenses required to be filed by independent candidates in Dear Sir: general elections.

Youhave requested anopinion as to whether independent candidates whose namesare placed on the general election ball& in accordance with Sections 227-230 of the Texas Election‘Code'(V.C.'S. .Election Code, Arts. 13.5+13,53) must~complywith thenprovisions of Chapter 14 of the Election Code (Sets. 237-246; V.C. S. Election Code, Arts. 14.01-14.10) relating to campsign expenditures. You ask specifically:

"Does each candidate for office in the independent column of the ballot at a general election have to file all the sworn expense accounts andreports of contributions, or file only one, after the general election andwithin ten days thereafter?" Chapter 14, Title 50, Revised Civil Statutes of 1925, entitled "Limiting CampaignExpenditures" (Arts. 3168-3173, V.C.S.) applied only to candidates in primary elections. Article 

### 3168defined a candidate as "any person whohas announced to anyother person or to the public that he is a candidate for the nomination for any office which the laws of this State require to be determined by a primary election." Article 3172 required "each candidate for nomination in a primary election" to keep arecord of moneys received or disbursed for campaign purposes andto file state,ments of these receipts anddisbursements at stated intervals before and after the primary. Other provisions of these statutes makeit quite clear that they included only candidates in primary elections anddid not extend to campaign expenditures incurred after nomination in aprimary. The only requirementplaced upon candidates in the general election in regard to campaign expenditures was found in Article 252, Vernon's Penal Code, as follows:.

Hon. Alwin E. Pape, page 2 

### (v-1509)

‘Any candidate for any public office, whether elected or not, whofails to file with the county judge of his county within ten deys after the date of a general election anitemized statement of all moneyor things of value paid or promised by himbefore or during his candidacy for such office including his traveling expenses, hotel bills andmoneypaid to newspapers, andmakean affidavit to the correctness of such account, showing to whompaid or promised, shall be fined not less than two hundred nor morethan five hundred dollars.” With the adoption of the Election Code the Legislature rewrote the campaign expenditure provisions of Chapter 14, Title 50 so as to makethemapplicable to general and special elections as wel3. as primary elections, In place of the definition of “candidate” quoted above, Section 237 of the Election Codenowpro- ,vides:

“Theword 1 candidate’ shall meanany person whohas announced to any other person or to the publ.ic that he is a~candfdate .for the nomination for or the election to anyoffice which the laws of this State require to be determined by an election. Theterm ‘campaign expenditure’ as &eGe;nafter used shall include anygift, loan, or payment of moneyor other valuable tNng or promise to give, lend, or pay money or other valuable thing for the purpose of furthering or opposing ?he candidacy of any person for nomination for or election to any county, district, or state office.” Changes in the wording of. other sections in this chapter conform to the inclusion of -general and ,,.special elections within its terms. Subdivision (f)

“of Section 

### 244 (formerly Article 3172) nowprovides that each candidate mustfile sworn statements of receipts and expenditures “at intervals of twenty (20) days beginning sixty 

### (60) days next preceding the date of anyelection In which the candidate’s nameannears on the-.ballot aa .,I’ Subdivision (d) provides that [‘any such statement filed by a candidate in a special or general election must include all items not reported in statements filed in previous elections preceding such special or general election.t’ Theaffidav3.t form setHon. Alwin E. Pape, page 3 (v-1509)

out In subdivision (f) further shows that candidates whose namesappear on a general or special electio ballot nowmust file the statements required by this s.ectlon.

_

Thetimes at which statements must be filed are set out in subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 244, as follows: "0) Each candidate is hereby required to file sworn statements of all gifts and loans previously received and of all gifts, loans4 and payments madeand all debts incurre

. Such sworn statements shall andmust be filed at intecvals of twenty (20) days beginning sixty (60) days next preceding the ,: date of any election in which the candidate's nameappears on the ballot provided however, that a sworn statement shall be file4 not morethan five (5) nor less than two (2) days prior to the date of the election in which the candidate's name~appearson the ballot. Provided, further, that there shall be filed a sworn statement not more~thantwenty (20), nor less than fifteen (15) days next preceding the second or run-off primary election andthere shall be filed a second swornstatementnot morethan five 

### (5) nor less than two (2) days next preceding the second or runoff primary election in which the candidate's nameappears on the ~ballot. Such,sworn statement shall also include an estimate of the additional amountthat the candidate will expend or become liable for in behalf of.his '. candidacy from the time of the filing of the sworn statement to and including the day of the election. "(c) Not less than ten (LO) days after the election each candidate must file a sworn supplemental statement of all gifts andloans received prior to the election and of,all gifts, loans, andpayments madeand debts lncurred prior to the election not specifically Included in the sworn statement filed prior to the election." Thefirst statement required of an independent candidate in the general election is to be filed 60daysHon. Alwin E. Pape, page 

### 4 (V-1509)

preceding the date of that election. UnderSection 227 the application to have the nameof anindependent can idate A placed onthe ballot maybe filed within 30 days after the second primary election day so it is possible that the application will not be hiled until sometime after the 60th day preceding the election. nobfever; under the definition contained in Section 237, a "candidate" meansanyperson whohas announced to any other person or to the publJ& that he is a candidate for the office, Ourconstruction of these statutes is that a person who, on or prior to 

### 60days before the general election, has announced his intention to seek
, election as anIndependent candidate should file this report, even though the application for placing his name on the ballot has not been filed. Aperson whohas not then become a f'candidate" as defined in Section 237 obviously is not required to file a statement onthat date.

vision (c)Thepost-election statement required by subdiof Section 

### 244is a suonleuental statement of 

### Itemsnot reported prior to the election. UnderArticle 252 of the Penal Code, a candidate in the general election heretofore has been required to file with the county judge within 10days after the election,a statementof &!J.expenses incurred during his candidacy. The ~extension of Section 

### 244of the Election Code to general elections raises the question of whether candidates in a general election must still file the statement described In Article 252, v.P,c.

Article 252 of the Penal Codewas not expressly repealed by the Election Code. Section 247 of the Election Code repeals "all laws andparts of laws In con

### flictherewith

. 0oin so far as such laws are in actual conflict with the provisions of this Code." It cannot be said that Article 252 is in actual conflict with Sec

### tion244, for clearly it Is not impossible for a candidate to comply fully with both-provisions.

Section 2 of the bill bywhich the Election code was enacted (H.B.

### 6,C:cts 52ndLeg., 

### 1951,ch.492) reads: "That all elections andall laws relating to suffrage andparties, as found in Title 50of the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas of 1925, andall amendmentsthereto, 

### beandthe sameare hereby repealed, provided, however, that nothing in this Act.

Hon. Alwin E. Papo, page 5 (V-1509)

shall be construed as repealing or in‘any wayaffecting the legality of anypenal provision of the existing law; andth&a Act shall be construed,to be anindependent Act of the Legislature enacted under the caption hereof, andthe Sections contained in this Act, as revised, rewritten, changed, combined andcodifi.ed shall be -the governing law of this State." Theextent to which these provisions alter the ordinary rules of statutory construction is not clearly ascertainable. Webelieve this section means simply that a provision in the Penal Code is not repealed unless somepzovision of the Election Code, construed as anIndependent act of the Legislature would repeal it by implication. It is a recognize d rule of statutory construction that where the Leglslature has enacted a statute which was intended to enbrace the entire subject matter, prior statutes on the samesubject are repealed by implication. Co. v. Citv of Hamli 142 Tex. 486, 179 S.w$?* ( 44) Meekv. Whee% Count 125 S.W.2d 331 (Tex. Ctz. Aipm9) affirmed 13 'Tex. 454 144 SW2d -3 885; 39Tex. Jur!., Statutzs, E80. In $lew of-tie completeness with which Section 244 prescribes the statementswhich a candidate in the general election must file, weare inclined to the view that the Legislature Intended Section 244 to be,a complete enactment covering the entlre,field of campaign expense reports. However, because of our uncertainty that this view would be sustained by the courts, It is our advice that candidates, in order to be sure of compliance with statutory requirements, also,flle the statement described in Article 252 of the Penal Code.

SUMMARY

AnIndependent candidate in the general election nominated in accordance with Sections 227-230, Texas Election Code (V.C.S. Election Code, Arts. 13.50-13.53) mustfile the statements of campaign recei ts and expenditures required by Section 2f:4 of the. -

Hon. Alvin E. Pape, page 

### 6 (V-1%9)

333;&.fon Code (V.C.S. ~EJ.ection,code, Art. 0

. APPROVED: Yours very truly,
J. C. Davis, Jr. PRICEDANIEL county Affairs Division 'Attorney General
E. Jacobson Reviewing Assistant By*kyf % FW Charles D. Mathews MaryK. Wall First Assistant Assistant MKW:wb

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