Monitoring the Session

SB 2781

bill adding money penalties to lobbyist campaign money rules

Became law, effective Sep 1, 2025

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Brian BirdwellRSenate 22

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 imposition of civil penalties for certain violations with respect to political contributions and expenditures made by certain persons who engage in lobbying activities.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Two existing limits on lobbyists now carry penalties.

The bill adds money penalties to two existing state rules that limit how registered lobbyists can use campaign money. A lobbyist who spends from their own campaign funds, or from a committee tied to them, to help other candidates or committees could owe up to twice the amount spent, and a person who breaks the related rule in Section 253.007 could owe up to twice the covered contributions and expenditures from the prior two years. The new penalties apply only to violations on or after September 1, 2025.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB2781 · 2025-03-14

SOLD BY

Sen. Brian BirdwellRSenate 22

+ 1 coauthor

ITEM

relating to the imposition of civil penalties for certain violations with respect to political contributions and expenditures made by certain persons who engage in lobbying activities.

WHAT IT DOES

Two existing limits on lobbyists now carry penalties.

The bill adds money penalties to two existing state rules that limit how registered lobbyists can use campaign money. A lobbyist who spends from their own campaign funds, or from a committee tied to them, to help other candidates or committees could owe up to twice the amount spent, and a person who breaks the related rule in Section 253.007 could owe up to twice the covered contributions and expenditures from the prior two years. The new penalties apply only to violations 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 25, 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. Received by the Secretary of the Senate
  2. Filed
  3. Read first time
  4. Referred to State Affairs
  5. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  6. Considered in public hearing
  7. Left pending in committee
  8. Considered in public hearing
  9. Vote taken in committee
  10. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  11. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  12. Committee report printed and distributed
  13. Placed on intent calendar
  14. Co-author authorized
  15. Rules suspended-Regular order of business
  16. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  17. Vote recorded in Journal
  18. Three day rule suspended
  19. Record vote
  20. Read 3rd time
  21. Passed
  22. Record vote
  23. Reported engrossed
  24. Received from the Senate
  25. Read first time
  26. Referred to State Affairs
  27. Considered in formal meeting
  28. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  29. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  30. Committee report distributed
  31. Committee report sent to Calendars
  32. Considered in Calendars
  33. Placed on General State Calendar
  34. Read 2nd time
  35. Passed to 3rd reading
  36. Record vote RV#3807
  37. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  38. Read 3rd time
  39. Passed
  40. Record vote RV#3905
  41. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  42. House passage reported
  43. Reported enrolled
  44. Signed in the Senate
  45. Signed in the House
  46. Sent to the Governor
  47. Signed by the Governor
  48. Effective on 9/1/25
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 108 yea · 27 nay

Senate · 31 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 28, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · May 8, 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

Brian Birdwell

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC Austin TX$30,000
Good Government Fund Fort Worth TX$10,000
Texas Oil & Gas Assn. Good Govt. Cmte Austin TX$10,000

Derived from itemized gifts, Jul 1, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

$353,800 raised since Jul 1, 2024. Derived sum of published report totals. blank in the state's data, consistent with zero. Flow, Jul 1, 2024 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026. 4 of 4 filed reports carry a published figure.

$502,039 spent since Jul 1, 2024. Derived sum of published report totals. Flow, Jul 1, 2024 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026. 4 of 4 filed reports carry a published figure.

$731,044 cash on hand. Published report total. Stock, as of Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

$0 loans outstanding. Published report total. Stock, as of Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived sum of itemized contributions in regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Unitemized contributions are not included. Flow, Jul 1, 2024 through Jun 30, 2026. State filing data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Money

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

Votes5

House May 28, 2025

Yea
108
Nay
27
Present, not voting
2
Absent
6
Excused
7
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3905

SB 2781 was passed by (Record 3905): 108 Yeas, 27 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 108 (published)
  • Nay: 27 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 6 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 7 (derived from named list)

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

House May 27, 2025

Yea
117
Nay
24
Present, not voting
1
Absent
5
Excused
3
Names

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

House journal

Sources

Record 3807

SB 2781 was passed to third reading by (Record 3807): 117 Yeas, 24 Nays, 1 Present, not voting.

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

  • Yea: 117 (published)
  • Nay: 24 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 1 (published)
  • Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 3 (derived from named list)

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

Senate May 8, 2025

Yea
31
Nay
0
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Sources

Senator Birdwell moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 2781 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

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

  • Yea: 31 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

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

Senate May 8, 2025

Yea
31
Nay
0
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Sources

Senator Birdwell moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 2781 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

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

  • Yea: 31 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

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

Senate May 8, 2025

Yea
Not printed
Nay
Not printed
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.

Sources

The bill was read second time and was passed to engrossment by a viva voce vote.

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

  • Yea: Not printed
  • Nay: Not printed
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

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

Witnesses3
For
0
Against
2
On
1
Names

Against

  • Self2 registrations

On

  • Texas Ethics Commission1 registration
Sources

3 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

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

Senate 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 25, 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.

Sources

Texas Senate · Filed Mar 14, 2025

06/20/2025 E Effective on 9/1/25

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · Senate Committee Report · Engrossed · House Committee Report · Enrolled

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

Coauthors
Sarah EckhardtDSenate 14
Sponsors
Matt ShaheenRHouse 66

House committee · State Affairs · Committee vote 12 aye, 2 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · State Affairs · Committee vote 10 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Subjects

Civil Remedies & Liabilities

Elections--Campaign Financing

Ethics

LOBBYISTS & LOBBYING

POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Text

The text as introduced · 369 words

89R16987 CJD-D

By: Birdwell
S.B. No. 2781

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the imposition of civil penalties for certain

violations with respect to political contributions and

expenditures made by certain persons who engage in lobbying

activities.

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

SECTION 1. Section 253.006, Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 253.006. CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY

LOBBYISTS RESTRICTED. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of

law, a person required to register under Chapter 305, Government

Code, may not knowingly make or authorize a political contribution

or political expenditure that is a political contribution to

another candidate, officeholder, or political committee, or direct

campaign expenditure, from political contributions accepted by:

(1) the person as a candidate or officeholder;

(2) a specific-purpose committee for the purpose of

supporting the person as a candidate or assisting the person as an

officeholder; or

(3) a political committee that accepted a political

contribution from a source described by Subdivision (1) or (2)

during the two-year period immediately before the date the

political contribution or expenditure was made.

(b) A person who violates this section is subject to a civil

penalty in an amount not to exceed twice the amount of the political

contribution or political expenditure made or authorized in

violation of this section.

SECTION 2. Section 253.007, Election Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) A person who violates this section is subject to a civil

penalty in an amount not to exceed twice the amount of all political

contributions or political expenditures described by Subsection

(b) made or authorized by the person in the two years preceding the

date on which the activities in violation of this section occurred.

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

253, Election code, apply only to a violation that occurs on or

after the effective date of this Act. A violation that occurs

before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in

effect on the date the violation occurred, and the former law is

continued in effect for that purpose.

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