88R HB 1245
by Rep. Goodwin, same lead author · Died in committee · same text
Introduced textLast action, Mar 3, 2023: Referred to Elections
Relating to campaign contribution limits for certain offices.
Caption, 88R bill history
HB 1447
bill capping campaign contributions for statewide and legislative races
Died in committee
Verdict: No flags
No flagsInitial review
Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade
Caption
relating to campaign contribution limits for certain offices.
Caption from analyzed text · version I.
Summary
Cap is 50x the federal per-election limit. Judges excluded.
The bill caps how much one person can give to a candidate for statewide office or the Legislature, or to a committee backing that candidate, in a primary or general election. The cap is set at 50 times the per-election limit that applies to federal candidates under federal campaign law, and statewide judicial candidates are left out. Starting September 1, 2025, donors and campaigns for these offices face a contribution ceiling where the text creates a new one, and gifts made before that date are not counted toward it.
Labels
Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R HB 1245 (Died in committee) and this bill (Died in committee). Checked against 88R only.BACK FROM THE DEAD. Same text as a bill filed before that died: 88R HB 1245 (Died in committee). Filed in 2 sessions, counting this one. Checked against 88R only.TRY NO. 2. Filed in 2 sessions: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.NEVER GOT A HEARING. Filed Nov 21, 2024 and referred to the House State Affairs committee. No public hearing. The bill died.
Receipt
The receipt
89R-HB1447 · 2024-11-21
SOLD BY
+ 5 coauthors
ITEM
relating to campaign contribution limits for certain offices.
WHAT IT DOES
Cap is 50x the federal per-election limit. Judges excluded.
The bill caps how much one person can give to a candidate for statewide office or the Legislature, or to a committee backing that candidate, in a primary or general election. The cap is set at 50 times the per-election limit that applies to federal candidates under federal campaign law, and statewide judicial candidates are left out. Starting September 1, 2025, donors and campaigns for these offices face a contribution ceiling where the text creates a new one, and gifts made before that date are not counted toward it.
CHARGES
[ ] NONE FOUND
TOTAL
No fiscal note in the loaded record.
HISTORY
- Filed
- Read first time
- Referred to State Affairs
FILED UNDER
No verified beat found.
No flags
THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT
CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY
CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY
Donors
R Stephen McNally$144,000Donald H Henley$109,000Donald Henley$108,500
Not tied to this bill.
Sources
The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.
Derived itemized flow · Oct 28, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.
Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.
R Stephen McNally$144,000.00
Donald H Henley$109,000.00
Donald Henley$108,500.00
MoneyMissing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.
Votes
No floor vote loaded for this bill.
Fiscal
No fiscal note in the loaded record.
How this was graded
Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.
FILED BEFORE
Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.
Sources
Texas House · Filed Nov 21, 2024
03/11/2025 H Referred to State Affairs: Mar 11 2025 3:26PM
Texas Legislature Online · Introduced
Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.
House committee · State Affairs · Final status: Died in committee
Subjects
Elections--Campaign Financing
Elections--Candidates
POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Text
The text as introduced · 240 words
89R1332 MPF-D By: Goodwin H.B. No. 1447 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to campaign contribution limits for certain offices. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 253, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 253.008 to read as follows: Sec. 253.008. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS. (a) In this section, "candidate for statewide office" does not include a candidate for statewide judicial office, as defined by Section 253.152. (b) A person may not knowingly make or authorize the making of a campaign contribution to a candidate for statewide office or the legislature, or to a specific-purpose committee supporting the candidate or opposing the candidate's opponent, for the primary or general election in which the candidate is involved in an amount that exceeds 50 times the amount of the contribution limits for an election applicable to a federal candidate under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. Section 30101 et seq.). SECTION 2. Section 253.008, Election Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a campaign contribution made on or after the effective date of this Act. A campaign contribution made before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the contribution was made, and the contribution is not aggregated with campaign contributions made on or after that date. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.