Monitoring the Session

HB 4406

Phelan’s bill on who direct campaign spending targets

Did not pass

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Dade PhelanRHouse 21

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 the reporting of direct campaign expenditures by certain persons and political committees.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Reports name each candidate the spending supports or opposes.

The bill changes what campaign finance reports must say about direct campaign expenditures, which is spending made directly for or against a candidate. Reports must now name each candidate or officeholder the spending was made to support or oppose, instead of only those who 'benefit from' it. This touches people and political committees that file reports under Chapter 254 of the Election Code, and it applies to reports due on or after September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R HB 2629 by Rep. Rogers (Vetoed) and this bill (Did not pass). Checked against 88R only.BACK FROM THE DEAD. Same text as a bill filed before that died: 88R HB 2629 by Rep. Rogers (Vetoed). 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 2, 2025. Died in the Senate: received, never referred to a committee.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB4406 · 2025-03-11

SOLD BY

ITEM

relating to the reporting of direct campaign expenditures by certain persons and political committees.

WHAT IT DOES

Reports name each candidate the spending supports or opposes.

The bill changes what campaign finance reports must say about direct campaign expenditures, which is spending made directly for or against a candidate. Reports must now name each candidate or officeholder the spending was made to support or oppose, instead of only those who 'benefit from' it. This touches people and political committees that file reports under Chapter 254 of the Election Code, and it applies to reports due on or after September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 7, 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 public hearing
  9. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  10. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  11. Committee report distributed
  12. Committee report sent to Calendars
  13. Considered in Calendars
  14. Placed on General State Calendar
  15. Read 2nd time
  16. Passed to engrossment
  17. Record vote RV#1235
  18. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  19. Read 3rd time
  20. Passed
  21. Record vote RV#1331
  22. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  23. Reported engrossed
  24. Received from the House
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 94 yea · 27 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 2, 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

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 2, 2025

Yea
94
Nay
27
Present, not voting
2
Absent
5
Excused
22
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 1331

HB 4406 was passed by (Record 1331): 94 Yeas, 27 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 94 (published)
  • Nay: 27 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 22 (derived from named list)

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

House May 1, 2025

Yea
105
Nay
35
Present, not voting
1
Absent
5
Excused
4
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 1235

HB 4406 was passed to engrossment by (Record 1235): 105 Yeas, 35 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 105 (published)
  • Nay: 35 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 4 (derived from named list)

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

Witnesses6
For
4
Against
1
On
1
Names

For

  • Lone Star Chapter Sierra Club1 registration
  • Self1 registration
  • Texas Alliance for Life1 registration
  • Texas Consumer Association1 registration

Against

  • Self1 registration

On

  • Texas Ethics Commission1 registration
Sources

6 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 I · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 7, 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 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.

88R HB 2629

by Rep. Rogers, different lead author · Vetoed · same text

Introduced text

Last action, Jun 18, 2023: Vetoed by the Governor

Relating to the reporting of direct campaign expenditures by certain persons and political committees.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas House · Filed Mar 11, 2025

05/05/2025 S Received from the House

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 14 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Companion

HB 4033 by Plesa (duplicate)

Subjects

Elections--Campaign Financing

Elections--Candidates

P.A.C. TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (P47C2)

POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Text

The text as introduced · 829 words

89R633 MPF-F

By: Phelan
H.B. No. 4406

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the reporting of direct campaign expenditures by

certain persons and political committees.

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

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the P.A.C. Transparency

and Accountability Act.

SECTION 2. Section 254.031(a), Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, each

report filed under this chapter must include:

(1) the amount of political contributions, other than

political contributions described by Subdivision (1-a), from each

person that in the aggregate exceed $50 and that are accepted during

the reporting period by the person or committee required to file a

report under this chapter, the full name and address of the person

making the contributions, and the dates of the contributions;

(1-a) the amount of political contributions from each

person that are made electronically and that are accepted during

the reporting period by the person or committee required to file a

report under this chapter, the full name and address of the person

making the contributions, and the dates of the contributions;

(2) the amount of loans that are made during the

reporting period for campaign or officeholder purposes to the

person or committee required to file the report and that in the

aggregate exceed $50, the dates the loans are made, the interest

rate, the maturity date, the type of collateral for the loans, if

any, the full name and address of the person or financial

institution making the loans, the full name and address, principal

occupation, and name of the employer of each guarantor of the loans,

the amount of the loans guaranteed by each guarantor, and the

aggregate principal amount of all outstanding loans as of the last

day of the reporting period;

(3) the amount of political expenditures that in the

aggregate exceed $100 and that are made during the reporting

period, the full name and address of the persons to whom the

expenditures are made, and the dates and purposes of the

expenditures;

(4) the amount of each payment made during the

reporting period from a political contribution if the payment is

not a political expenditure, the full name and address of the person

to whom the payment is made, and the date and purpose of the

payment;

(5) the total amount or a specific listing of the

political contributions of $50 or less accepted and the total

amount or a specific listing of the political expenditures of $100

or less made during the reporting period;

(6) the total amount of all political contributions

accepted and the total amount of all political expenditures made

during the reporting period;

(7) the name of each candidate or officeholder for

whom [ who benefits from ] a direct campaign expenditure was made to

support or oppose during the reporting period by the person or

committee required to file the report, and the office sought or

held, excluding a direct campaign expenditure that is made by the

principal political committee of a political party on behalf of a

slate of two or more nominees of that party;

(8) as of the last day of a reporting period for which

the person is required to file a report, the total amount of

political contributions accepted, including interest or other

income on those contributions, maintained in one or more accounts

in which political contributions are deposited as of the last day of

the reporting period;

(9) any credit, interest, rebate, refund,

reimbursement, or return of a deposit fee resulting from the use of

a political contribution or an asset purchased with a political

contribution that is received during the reporting period and the

amount of which exceeds $100;

(10) any proceeds of the sale of an asset purchased

with a political contribution that is received during the reporting

period and the amount of which exceeds $100;

(11) any investment purchased with a political

contribution that is received during the reporting period and the

amount of which exceeds $100;

(12) any other gain from a political contribution that

is received during the reporting period and the amount of which

exceeds $100; and

(13) the full name and address of each person from whom

an amount described by Subdivision (9), (10), (11), or (12) is

received, the date the amount is received, and the purpose for which

the amount is received.

SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

a report under Chapter 254, Election Code, that is required to be

filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A report under

that chapter that is required to be filed before the effective date

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

is required to be filed, and the former law is continued in effect

for that purpose.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.