1. (a) For reporting required under §254.031 of the Election Code, the purpose of an expenditure means:

   1. (1) A description of the category of goods, services, or other thing of value for which an expenditure is made. Examples of acceptable categories include:

      1. (A) advertising expense;
      2. (B) accounting/banking;
      3. (C) consulting expense;
      4. (D) contributions/donations made by candidate/officeholder/political committee;
      5. (E) event expense;
      6. (F) fees;
      7. (G) food/beverage expense;
      8. (H) gifts/awards/memorials expense;
      9. (I) legal services;
      10. (J) loan repayment/reimbursement;
      11. (K) office overhead/rental expense;
      12. (L) polling expense;
      13. (M) printing expense;
      14. (N) salaries/wages/contract labor;
      15. (O) solicitation/fundraising expense;
      16. (P) transportation equipment and related expense;
      17. (Q) travel in district;
      18. (R) travel out of district;
      19. (S) other political expenditures; and
   2. (2) A brief statement or description of the candidate, officeholder, or political committee activity that is conducted by making the expenditure and an additional indication if the expenditure is an officeholder expenditure for living in Austin, Texas. The brief statement or description must include the item or service purchased and must be sufficiently specific, when considered within the context of the description of the category, to make the reason for the expenditure clear. Merely disclosing the category of goods, services, or other thing of value for which the expenditure is made does not adequately describe the purpose of an expenditure.
   3. (3) For purposes of this section, "consulting" means advice and strategy. "Consulting" does not include providing other goods or services, including without limitation media production, voter contact, or political advertising.
2. (b) An expenditure other than a reimbursement to a person, including a vendor, for more than one type of good or service must be reported by the filer as separate expenditures for each type of good or service provided by the person in accordance with this rule.

3. (c) The description of a political expenditure for travel outside of the state of Texas must provide the following:

   1. (1) The name of the person or persons traveling on whose behalf the expenditure was made;
   2. (2) The means of transportation;
   3. (3) The name of the departure city or the name of each departure location;
   4. (4) The name of the destination city or the name of each destination location;
   5. (5) The dates on which the travel occurred; and
   6. (6) The campaign or officeholder purpose of the travel, including the name of a conference, seminar, or other event.

Source Note:The provisions of this §20.61 adopted to be effective March 16, 2026, 51 TexReg 1603.