- (a) The county chair shall contact the Secretary of State's Elections Division for legal advice concerning routine election law questions. (Attorneys with the Elections Division may be reached toll-free by calling 1-800-252-2216. There is no charge for this service.)
- (b) The Secretary of State shall not provide primary-fund reimbursement for legal expenses resulting from the negligent or wrongful acts of the county chair, a member of the county executive committee, the county executive committee, or a staff member performing a statutory duty.
- (c) The Secretary of State shall only pay legal expenses related to litigation concerning the conduct of the primary election.
- (d) The county chair shall contact the Secretary of State before entering into a contract for legal services in order to obtain a determination from the Secretary as to whether the legal services are payable from the primary fund.
- (e) The Secretary of State shall not reimburse legal expenses if the county chair fails to notify the Secretary of State of litigation within three business days following the receipt of service of process.
- (f) Not later than 14 days after the county chair retains an attorney, the county chair shall provide to the Secretary of State written information concerning the background of the case and an estimate of the cost to defend the case.
- (g) The county chair shall provide to the Secretary of State copies of all invoices related to legal expenses. The Secretary of State shall review all invoices for legal expenses and make a determination as to their reasonableness based on the novelty and complexity of the legal issues involved. The Secretary of State shall base payment of legal expenses upon the pay scale currently reflected in the State Bar of Texas Attorney Economic Survey--Hourly Rates in Texas Law Firms.
- (h) The county chair shall file a final invoice for legal expenses no later than July 1 of the following year of the primary election year, unless the chair has requested and received a written authorization from the Secretary of State to extend the deadline.
- (i) All legal billings submitted to the Secretary of State for reimbursement are subject to the Public Information Act (Chapter 552, Texas Government Code).
Source Note:The provisions of this §81.134 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.