Routine questions concerning Texas election laws can be answered free of charge by the Secretary of State's Elections Division at 1-(800)-252-8683 and are not reimbursable legal expenses. Legal expenses must be related to litigation and may not be paid from the primary fund without the prior written approval of the Secretary of State. No legal expenses which result from a negligent or wrongful action(s) of the county chair, a member of the county executive committee, the county executive committee or staff member performing any statutory duty on behalf of any of the foregoing may be paid from the primary fund. Before entering into a contract for legal services anticipated to be payable from primary funds, the county chair must contact the Secretary of State and obtain a determination that such legal services are in fact payable from the primary fund. If the chair fails to notify the Secretary of State within three business days following service of process, legal expenses will not be reimbursed. Within two weeks of an attorney's commencement of work on a case, the county chair must provide the Secretary of State with written information concerning the background of the case and an estimate of the cost of the legal expenses. Invoices for legal expenses must be provided to the Secretary of State and will be reviewed for reasonableness. During review, criteria such as novelty and difficulty of the legal issues involved, and consideration of legal expenses incurred in similar cases will be considered. Payment of legal expenses will be subject to a pay scale using the current State Bar of Texas Attorney Compensation and Billing Survey. A final invoice for legal expenses must be returned by the time the final cost report is due unless special permission is obtained to extend the deadline for filing a final invoice. Legal billings submitted to the Secretary of State for reimbursement are subject to the Open Records Act.

Source Note:The provisions of this §81.126 adopted to be effective November 3, 1997, 22 TexReg 10502.