Monitoring the Session

HB 3592

Phelan’s bill capping out-of-state political contributions

Died in committee

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Dade PhelanRHouse 21

Initial review · graded Oct 22, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to restrictions on political contributions by out-of-state contributors; providing a civil penalty.

Caption from analyzed text · version H.

Summary

$5,000 statewide, $2,500 district, $1,000 county, per election.

The bill caps how much a Texas candidate or officeholder may knowingly take from any one donor whose principal address is outside Texas: $5,000 for a statewide race, $2,500 for a district race and $1,000 for a county race, per election. It touches candidates, officeholders and out-of-state donors, and it gives the Texas Ethics Commission the job of writing rules and enforcing the caps. Money over the cap must be returned within a short deadline, and after a formal hearing the commission can impose a civil penalty of up to three times the excess, starting with contributions made on or after September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R SB 1706 by Sen. Middleton (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 SB 1706 by Sen. Middleton (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.GOT HALFWAY. Passed the House on May 14, 2025. Died in the Senate: never got out of the State Affairs committee.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB3592 · 2025-03-03

SOLD BY

Rep. Dade PhelanRHouse 21 Rep. Terri Leo WilsonRHouse 23

ITEM

relating to restrictions on political contributions by out-of-state contributors; providing a civil penalty.

WHAT IT DOES

$5,000 statewide, $2,500 district, $1,000 county, per election.

The bill caps how much a Texas candidate or officeholder may knowingly take from any one donor whose principal address is outside Texas: $5,000 for a statewide race, $2,500 for a district race and $1,000 for a county race, per election. It touches candidates, officeholders and out-of-state donors, and it gives the Texas Ethics Commission the job of writing rules and enforcing the caps. Money over the cap must be returned within a short deadline, and after a formal hearing the commission can impose a civil penalty of up to three times the excess, starting with contributions made on or after September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · April 17, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to State Affairs
  4. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  5. Considered in public hearing
  6. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  7. Left pending in committee
  8. Considered in formal meeting
  9. Committee substitute considered in committee
  10. Reported favorably as substituted
  11. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  12. Committee report distributed
  13. Committee report sent to Calendars
  14. Considered in Calendars
  15. Placed on General State Calendar
  16. Read 2nd time
  17. Amended 1-Phelan
  18. Passed to engrossment as amended
  19. Record vote RV#2414
  20. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  21. Read 3rd time
  22. Passed
  23. Record vote RV#2485
  24. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  25. Reported engrossed
  26. Received from the House
  27. Read first time
  28. Referred to State Affairs
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 118 yea · 21 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 14, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Dade Phelan

Donors

Tyson D. Faust$75,000Tama Lundquist$75,000JLN III Holdings LLC$50K

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 · Jul 1, 2024 to Jun 24, 2025. 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.

Tyson D. Faust$75,000.00
Tama Lundquist$75,000.00
JLN III Holdings LLC$50,000.00

JLN III Holdings LLC

$50,000.00

Cash
$50,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$50,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Oct 8, 2024 to Dec 2, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Oct 11, 2024. 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.

Report IDs: 100987524.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

×

JLN III Holdings LLC

$50,000.00

Cash
$50,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$50,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Oct 8, 2024 to Dec 2, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Oct 11, 2024. 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.

Report IDs: 100987524.

Votes2

House May 14, 2025

Yea
118
Nay
21
Present, not voting
3
Absent
5
Excused
3
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2485

HB 3592 was passed by (Record 2485): 118 Yeas, 21 Nays, 3 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 118 (published)
  • Nay: 21 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 3 (published)
  • Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 3 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 13, 2025

Yea
100
Nay
32
Present, not voting
2
Absent
6
Excused
10
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2414

CSHB 3592, as amended, was passed to engrossment by (Record 2414): 100 Yeas, 32 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 100 (published)
  • Nay: 32 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 6 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 10 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Witnesses9
For
6
Against
2
On
1
Names

For

  • Lone Star Chapter Sierra Club1 registration
  • Self3 registrations
  • Self; Texas Constitutional Enforcement1 registration
  • Texas Consumer Association1 registration

Against

  • Self1 registration
  • Self; Fredericksburg Tea Party1 registration

On

  • Texas Ethics Commission1 registration
Sources

9 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

House witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version H · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version H · April 17, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version H by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 22, 2026, against the published rubric.

FILED BEFORE

Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.

88R SB 1706

by Sen. Middleton, different lead author · Died in committee · same text

Introduced text

Last action, Mar 16, 2023: Referred to State Affairs

Relating to restrictions on political contributions by out-of-state contributors; providing a civil penalty.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas House · Filed Mar 3, 2025

05/15/2025 S Referred to State Affairs

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report · Engrossed

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

House committee · State Affairs · Committee vote 15 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Senate committee · State Affairs · Final status: Died in committee

Companion

SB 405 by Middleton (identical)

Subjects

Crimes--Miscellaneous

Elections--Campaign Financing

Elections--Candidates

POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

ETHICS COMMISSION, TEXAS

Text

The text as introduced · 413 words

89R3770 MZM-F

By: Phelan
H.B. No. 3592

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to restrictions on political contributions by

out-of-state contributors; providing a civil penalty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 253, Election Code, is

amended by adding Section 253.044 to read as follows:

Sec. 253.044. POLITICAL CONTRIBUTION LIMITS RELATED TO

OUT-OF-STATE CONTRIBUTORS. (a) A candidate or an officeholder may

not knowingly accept, for an election in which the candidate's or

officeholder's name appears on the ballot, political contributions

that:

(1) are made by a person with a principal address that

is located outside this state; and

(2) in the aggregate exceed:

(A) $5,000 if the election is for a statewide

office;

(B) $2,500 if the election is for a district

office; or

(C) $1,000 if the election is for a county

office.

(b) A candidate or an officeholder who accepts a political

contribution in violation of Subsection (a) shall return the

contribution to the contributor not later than the later of:

(1) the last day of the reporting period under Chapter

254 during which the contribution was accepted; or

(2) the fifth day after the date the contribution was

accepted.

(c) A political committee may not make a political

contribution to a candidate or an officeholder for an election in

which the candidate's or officeholder's name appears on the ballot

if, during the preceding reporting period under Chapter 254, more

than 50 percent of the political contributions accepted by the

committee were made by persons with a principal address that is

located outside this state.

(d) A person who violates this section is liable for a civil

penalty not to exceed three times the amount of the political

contributions accepted or made in violation of this section. The

commission may impose a civil penalty against a person under this

subsection only after a formal hearing is held as provided by

Subchapter E, Chapter 571, Government Code.

(e) The commission shall adopt rules as necessary to

implement this section.

SECTION 2. Section 253.044, Election Code, as added by this

Act, applies only to a political contribution made on or after the

effective date of this Act. A contribution made before the

effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the

date the contribution was made and is not aggregated with

contributions made on or after that date.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.