The Bexar County Elections Department is responsible for overseeing voter registration activities and election operations throughout the county. To guarantee that elections are conducted in accordance with the law, the department has implemented a number of campaign finance regulations that have had a major effect on local politics and elections. Under the regulations, political committees must submit reports to the authority responsible for overseeing elections. These reports must include information about any political contributions made to a company in which the position holder has a stake greater than 10 percent, holds a position in the company's governing body, or serves as a company official.
Additionally, if a special-purpose committee supports or opposes a candidate or measure in an election after a reporting period prescribed in subsection (b) or (c), the authority must receive the first report no later than the usual reporting deadline covering the period during which the committee is participating in the election. If a general-purpose committee participates in an election after a reporting period prescribed in subsection (b) or (c), the authority must receive the first report no later than the usual deadline for the report covering the period during which the committee participates in the election. Furthermore, if a committee with a specific purpose to support or oppose more than one candidate participates in more than one election in which the reporting periods prescribed in Section 254.124 overlap, it is not necessary to include the reportable activity that occurs during the overlapping period in a report submitted after the first report in which reporting of the activity is required. Candidates, officeholders, campaign treasurers, and deputy campaign treasurers of political committees must also report any information required by Sections 254, 612, 254, 0912, or 254, 1212 that is not provided by the person making the political contribution and that they have in their record of political contributions or in previous reports under this chapter. If they fail to fully or partially declare a political contribution or political expenditure, as required by this chapter, they will be liable for damages to the state in the amount of triple the undeclared amount that must be declared. In addition to other required reports, campaign treasurers of general-purpose committees participating in runoff elections must submit a report for that election. For each reporting period under this subchapter in which a political committee of another state accepts political contributions or engages in political spending, they must submit to the commission a copy of one or more reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission or to the appropriate filing authority of at least one other state showing these contributions and expenditures. The modifications to campaign finance regulations have had an undeniable impact on politics and elections in Bexar County.
By requiring candidates and committees to submit reports detailing their political contributions and expenditures, these regulations have increased transparency and accountability within local politics. This has helped ensure that elections are conducted fairly and that candidates are held accountable for their actions.
