1. (a) Rental of office equipment is not required in order to conduct primary elections.
2. (b) The county chair may lease office equipment necessary for the administration of the primary elections for a period beginning December 1, 2007, and ending not later than the last day of the month in which the last primary election is held.
3. (c) The county party may not rent or lease equipment in which the party, the county chair, or a member of the county chair's family has a financial interest. (See definition of "family" at §81.114(b) of this title (relating to Conflicts of Interest)).
4. (d) The county chair or party shall rent equipment from an entity that has been in business for at least 18 months and has at least three other bona fide clients and on file with the corporation department of the Office of the Secretary of State or locally.
5. (e) The purchase of office supplies must be reasonable and/or necessary for the administration of the primary election to be payable from the primary fund. (This includes the purchase of two paperback copies of the Texas Election Code.)
6. (f) The county chair or party may be reimbursed for the cost of incidental supplies used in connection with the primary election. (Examples of reasonable incidental supplies include paper, toner, and staples.)
7. (g) The county chair may not use primary funds to purchase any single office-supply item or equipment valued at over $1,500. These items become a part of the Primary Office and are to be transferred to the next county chair.
8. (h) The county chair may not pay notary public expenses from the primary fund.

Source Note:The provisions of this §81.127 adopted to be effective November 18, 2003, 28 TexReg 10201; amended to be effective November 27, 2005, 30 TexReg 7719; amended to be effective December 9, 2007, 32 TexReg 9105.