1. (a) Before the county chair may make final payment, the county election officer must submit to the county chair an accounting of actual costs incurred in performance of the election-services contract for the joint-primary election. 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.
2. (b) The SOS may only reimburse actual costs incurred by the county and payable pursuant to provisions of the Texas Election Code, a joint primary contract, or an administrative rule. Costs prohibited by this chapter that appear in the election service contract are not reimbursable with primary funds.
3. (c) If the joint elections agreement requires the county elections officer to directly pay the costs associated with the joint election, then the county chair shall remit the total amount of state funds forwarded to the county chair pursuant to the contracted items as indicated on the primary cost estimate to the county election officer no later than the fifth day after receipt of the funds.
4. (d) The county may not reimburse regular pay for personnel normally employed by the county from primary-election funds.
5. (e) The joint resolution for the primary elections may not provide for any salary or compensation for the county election officer for the performance of any statutory duty or service.

Source Note:The provisions of this §81.157 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.