1. (a) The SOS has prepared a Primary Election Services Contract and a Joint Primary Election Service Contract (the "Model Contract"). Copies of the appropriate Model Contract may be obtained from the SOS.
2. (b) The county chair may use the Model Contract when executing an agreement for election services between the county executive committee and the county elections officer. (Contractible election services are listed in Subchapter B of Chapter 31 of the Texas Election Code.)
3. (c) The Model Contract may be revised as necessary to accommodate the specific agreement between the county chair and county election officer; however, activities not required by law are not payable with primary funds. Accordingly, those activities should be identified in the contract, including a stipulation as to whether the county chair or the county election officer will be responsible for the cost.
4. (d) Before the county chair may make final payment, the county election officer must submit to the county chair an accounting of the actual costs incurred in the performance of the election services contract. This must also be reported in the online primary finance system prescribed by the SOS. The county chair may accept the data entered in the online primary finance system as an accounting of the actual costs incurred in the performance of the election services contract. Otherwise, a copy must be included with the final cost report.
5. (e) The SOS may only pay actual costs incurred by the county and payable under provisions of the Texas Election Code, an election-services contract, or these administrative rules. Costs prohibited by this chapter that appear in the election service contract are not reimbursable with primary funds and must be articulated as such in the contract.
6. (f) Salaries of personnel regularly employed by the county may not be paid from or reimbursed to the county from the primary fund even if the employee used their vacation time to perform the duties.
7. (g) A county election officer may not contract for the performance of any duty or service that he or she is statutorily obligated to perform.
8. (h) Pursuant to §31.098 of the Texas Election Code, if authorized in the contract, county election officers who contract or conduct joint primaries must pay all bills for items they order on behalf of the parties, and seek reimbursements from the parties. Conversely, if a contract provides that the contracting authority (the county political party) is to pay the claims of third persons, then the county political party is responsible for payment directly to the claimant.
9. (i) County chairs are authorized to make deposits to the county election officer for contract election services prior to services being delivered consistent with §31.100 of the Texas Election Code.

Source Note:The provisions of this §81.131 adopted to be effective December 13, 2009, 34 TexReg 8665; amended to be effective March 7, 2012, 37 TexReg 1483; amended to be effective January 9, 2014, 39 TexReg 209.