TITLE 1. ADMINISTRATION

PART 2. TEXAS ETHICS COMMISSION

CHAPTER 18. GENERAL RULES CONCERNING REPORTS

The Texas Ethics Commission (the TEC) adopts an amendment to Texas Ethics Commission §18.10 (relating to Guidelines for Substantial Compliance for a Corrected/Amended 8-day Pre-election Report). This amendment is adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the December 26, 2025, issue of the Texas Register (50 TexReg 8425). The rule will not be republished.

State law requires state agencies to "review and consider for readoption each of its rules … not later than the fourth anniversary of the date on which the rule takes effect and every four years after that date." Tex. Gov't Code §2001.039. The law further requires agencies to "readopt, readopt with amendments, or repeal a rule as the result of reviewing the rule under this section." Id.

The TEC is continuing its comprehensive review with a review of the TEC's rules regarding reporting contributions and expenditures, which are codified in Chapter 20. Those new rules and the amendment to §18.10 will shorten, simplify, and reorganize the rules to eliminate surplusage and improve clarity on these restrictions.

The Commission did not receive any public comments on this amended rule.

The amended rule is adopted under Texas Government Code §571.062, which authorizes the Commission to adopt rules to administer Title 15 of the Election Code and Chapter 571 of the Government Code.

The adopted amended rule affects Title 15 of the Election Code.

The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on February 12, 2026.

TRD-202600623

Amanda Arriaga

General Counsel

Texas Ethics Commission

Effective date: March 4, 2026

Proposal publication date: December 26, 2025

For further information, please call: (512) 463-5800

CHAPTER 50. LEGISLATIVE SALARIES, PER DIEM AND EQUITABLE PENSION ADJUSTMENTS

1 TAC §50.3

The Texas Ethics Commission (the TEC) adopts new Texas Ethics Commission Rule 50.3 regarding Equitable Adjustments to Pensions. This new rule is adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the December 26, 2025, issue of the Texas Register (50 TexReg 8449). The rule will not be republished.

SB 293 from the 89th Legislative Session changed the way pensions for members of the "elected class" (non-judicial statewide elected officials, members of the legislature, and some district and criminal district attorneys) are calculated. Before the enactment of SB 293, the pension for members of the "elected class" was tied to the salary of a district court judge. This meant that if the legislature raised the salary of a district court judge it would also raise the pension of its own members. This linkage resulted in the salary of district court judges stagnating. SB 293 decoupled the link between judicial pay and legislators' and other non-judicial officeholders' pension.

Instead, SB 293 delegates to the TEC the ability to make "equitable adjustments" to the base amount used to calculate pensions for members of the "elected class". In effect, rather than voting for their own pension increase (and that of the governor, lt. governor and other statewide elected officials), the legislature has delegated that authority to the TEC. The law requires the TEC to develop, adopt, and make public a methodology for adjusting the dollar amount on which the standard service retirement annuity is computed by September 1, 2026.

The Commission did not receive any public comments on this new rule.