Texas Administrative Code › Title 1 - ADMINISTRATION › Part 4 - OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE › Chapter 81 - ELECTIONS › Subchapter F - PRIMARY ELECTIONS › Section 81.131 - Contracting with the County Election Officer

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) The SOS has prepared a Primary Election
				  Services Contract and a Joint Primary Election Service Contract (the "Model
				  Contract"). Copies of the appropriate Model Contract may be obtained from the
				  SOS.
(b) The county chair may use
				  the Model Contract when executing an agreement for election services between
				  the county executive committee and the county elections officer. (Contractible
				  election services are listed in Subchapter B of Chapter 31 of the Texas
				  Election Code.)
(c) The Model
				  Contract may be revised as necessary to accommodate the specific agreement
				  between the county chair and county election officer; however, activities not
				  required by law are not payable with primary funds. Accordingly, those
				  activities should be identified in the contract, including a stipulation as to
				  whether the county chair or the county election officer will be responsible for
				  the cost. Each contracting entity shall report the costs for which it is
				  responsible via the online primary finance system prescribed by SOS. The entity
				  that reports said expense(s) will receive direct payment from SOS for those
				  expense(s). Costs reported by the county election officer qualify for the ten
				  percent "general supervision fee" authorized under §31.100 of the Texas
				  Code. Expenses reported by the county chair qualify for the county chair
				  compensation (see §
										RSA
				  81.119 of this chapter (relating to County
				  Chair's Compensation)).
(d) The
				  county election officer must submit to the county chair an accounting of the
				  actual costs incurred in the performance of the election services contract. In
				  addition, the county election officer shall report the primary-eligible
				  expenses to SOS via the online primary finance system prescribed by
				  SOS.
(e) The SOS may only pay
				  actual costs incurred by the county and payable under provisions of the Texas
				  Election Code, an election-services contract, or these administrative rules.
				  Costs prohibited by this chapter that appear in the election service contract
				  are not reimbursable with primary funds and must be articulated as such in the
				  contract. Counties may not charge a flat fee for services unless the county can
				  produce a methodology that demonstrates the fee is equal to or less than the
				  actual costs incurred by the county, except when authorized by statute. Charges
				  may be set at a rate of up to ten (10) percent of the annual license and
				  maintenance fees for the software used to create the ballot style and program
				  the electronic voting equipment.
(f) Salaries of personnel regularly employed
				  by the county may not be paid from or reimbursed to the county from the primary
				  fund even if the employee used their vacation time to perform the
				  duties.
(g) A county election
				  officer may not contract for the performance of any duty or service that he or
				  she is statutorily obligated to perform.
(h)
										§
										RSA
				  31.100 of the Texas Election Code authorizes
				  the election officer to assess a "general supervision fee" of up to 10 percent
				  against the amount of the contract. The general supervision fee will not be
				  applied to any services in which the county election officer subcontracts with
				  another vendor that assesses a surcharge or administrative fee.