Austin City Council 2026 Ballot Propositions

Proposition F

Undecided

Campaign Contribution Limit Adjustment Timing

BALLOT LANGUAGE

Shall the City Charter be amended to clarify the meaning of the term "election" and to provide that the campaign contribution and expenditure limits shall be modified each year by January 1st instead of with the adoption of the budget?

WHY YOU MIGHT LIKE IT

The amendment moves the campaign contribution limit update from the August budget adoption to January 1st. This sets clear donation caps at a time more closely aligned with when candidates launch their campaigns and plan fundraising. It gives candidates and donors a predictable limit for the entire election season while freeing city staff to focus on city budget decisions in August.

WHAT MIGHT CONCERN YOU

The amendment replaces one arbitrary date with another without aligning the rest of the election system. Moving the update to January 1st leaves the contribution cap isolated from key campaign milestones like summer ballot filings, financial disclosures, and mid-year reporting.

WHAT THE AMENDMENT CHANGES

§ 8. - LIMITS ON CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES.

(A) Limits On Contributions To Candidates.

(1) No candidate for mayor or city council and his or her campaign committee shall accept campaign contributions in excess of $300 per contributor per general, runoff, or special election from any person, except for the candidate and small-donor political committees. The amount of the contribution limit shall be modified each year by January first or as otherwise provided by state law [with the adoption of the budget] to increase or decrease in accordance with the most recently published federal government Bureau of Labor Statistics Indicator, Consumer Price Index (CPI-W U.S. City Average) U.S. City Average. The most recently published Consumer Price Index on May 13, 2006, shall be used as a base of 100 and the adjustment thereafter will be to the nearest $50.00.

(2) Each candidate may authorize, establish, administer, or control only one campaign committee at one time.

(3) No candidate and his or her committee shall accept an aggregate contribution total of more than $30,000.00 per general or special election, and $20,000.00 in the case of a runoff election, from sources other than natural persons eligible to vote in a postal zip code completely or partially within the Austin city limits. The amount of the contribution limit shall be modified each year by January first or as otherwise provided in state law [with the adoption of the budget] to increase or decrease in accordance with the most recently published federal government Bureau of Labor Statistics Indicator, Consumer Price Index (CPI-W U.S. City Average) U.S. City Average. The most recently published Consumer Price Index on May 13, 2006, shall be used as a base of 100 and the adjustment thereafter will be to the nearest $1,000.00.

(B) Small-Donor Political Committees.

(1) A small-donor political committee is a political committee which has accepted no more than $25.00 from any contributor during any calendar year, has had at least 100 contributors during either the current or previous calendar year, has been in existence for at least six months, and has never been controlled by a candidate.

(2) Such a committee shall not contribute more than $1,000.00 per candidate per general, runoff, or special election for the offices of mayor and city council.

Sources:

City Ordinance No 20260806-004 contains City Charter amendments and can be downloaded from the August 6, 2026, meeting agenda: https://www.austintexas.gov/council/2026/20260806-reg#004
ARTICLE III. - ELECTIONS. § 8. - LIMITS ON CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES. https://library.municode.com/tx/austin/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTIIIEL_S8LICACOEX

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse