PAC CONTRIBUTION RULES

Who Can Give, How to Give, and What the Law Requires

One of the questions we receive most often is: "Can my company write a check to the SAAA PAC?" The answer depends on how your business is structured. Texas campaign finance law is specific about which types of entities may contribute to a PAC like ours, and the rules differ meaningfully depending on your ownership structure. This page explains the rules in plain language so you and your legal or financial advisors can make an informed decision.

Important

This page is an educational overview, not legal advice. If you have questions about your specific situation, consult your attorney or accountant before making a contribution.

The Core Rule: Personal Funds Only

Texas law establishes a clear baseline: the SAAA PAC may only accept contributions from personal funds or from certain non-corporate business entities. Corporate treasury funds and corporate credit cards are prohibited. This rule applies regardless of the size of the company or the amount of the intended contribution.

The governing authority is the Texas Election Code, Chapter 253, Subchapter D, enforced by the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC). Violations can result in civil penalties and, in serious cases, criminal referrals. The SAAA PAC takes compliance seriously and will return any contribution that does not meet these requirements.

Who Can Contribute: Entity-by-Entity Guide

Entity / Contributor Type	May Contribute?	Key Conditions / Notes
Individual (Personal Funds)	Yes	Any individual who is an SAAA member may contribute from personal funds, including personal checking, savings, or personal credit cards.
Sole Proprietorship	Yes	Sole proprietors may contribute because the business and the individual are one and the same. Use the business account only if it is personally held with no corporate ownership.
General Partnership (no corporate partners)	Yes	A general partnership may contribute if none of its partners are corporations or entities subject to the corporate ban. All partners must be individuals or permitted entity types.
LLC (no corporate ownership)	Yes	An LLC may contribute if it has no corporate members, directly or indirectly. Even a partial corporate ownership interest disqualifies the LLC under TEC rules.
LLC (any corporate ownership)	No	An LLC with any corporate partner, member, or owner at any level of the ownership chain is prohibited from contributing. This includes LLCs owned by other LLCs that are in turn owned by a corporation.
Limited Partnership (no corporate partners)	Conditional	A limited partnership may contribute only if no partner in the structure is a corporation or corporate-owned entity. LP structures can be complex; verify your ownership chain carefully.
Limited Partnership (any corporate partners)	No	Prohibited. Texas courts and the TEC have consistently held that a partnership with one or more corporate partners is subject to the same restrictions as a corporation.
S-Corporation	No	S-corporations are still corporations under Texas law and are prohibited from making political contributions, even though they are pass-through entities for federal tax purposes.
C-Corporation	No	Strictly prohibited. Corporate treasury funds may not be contributed to the SAAA PAC under any circumstances. Corporate officers and employees may contribute their own personal funds.
Professional Corporation (PC) or Professional Association (PA)	Conditional	PCs and PAs are not treated as "corporations" under TEC rules for contribution purposes and may generally make political contributions. Confirm your specific structure with an attorney.
REIT or Publicly Traded Entity	No	Publicly traded entities and their subsidiaries are almost always prohibited. Complex ownership structures involving any corporate component trigger the ban.
Foreign National or Foreign-Owned Entity	No	Foreign nationals are prohibited from contributing to any U.S. election-related fund under federal law (FECA). Entities with foreign national ownership are similarly restricted.

The Ownership Chain Rule

One of the most common points of confusion involves multi-layer ownership structures. Texas law looks through the entire ownership chain, not just the entity writing the check. If a corporate entity exists anywhere in the ownership structure of an LLC or partnership, the contribution is prohibited, even if the corporate owner is passive, holds a minority interest, or has no day-to-day management role.

Example

A property management LLC is owned 80% by two individual partners and 20% by a corporate holding company. Because a corporation holds any portion of the LLC, the LLC itself cannot contribute to the SAAA PAC. The two individual partners may still contribute their own personal funds.

Example

A sole proprietor who operates under a DBA (doing business as) name has no separate corporate structure. The individual may contribute from either personal or business funds since they are legally the same person.

How to Make a Valid Contribution

To ensure your contribution is compliant and processed without delay, please follow these guidelines:

Use a personal check, personal debit card, or personal credit card. Do not use a corporate account, company card, or company check unless you have confirmed the entity meets all legal requirements.
Make checks payable to "SAAA PAC."
Contributions from sole proprietors and qualifying partnerships or LLCs may be made from a business account, provided the entity has no corporate ownership. A written confirmation of no corporate ownership may be requested.
Be prepared to provide your full name, mailing address, occupation, and the name of your employer. Texas law requires the PAC to report this information for all contributions.
Recurring contributions enrolled through the SAAA PAC online portal are subject to the same rules. Update your payment method immediately if a corporate card was inadvertently used.
Contributions cannot be reimbursed by your employer or company. Accepting a reimbursement from a corporation to cover a PAC contribution is a violation of state law for both the contributor and the company.

What Corporate Entities Can Do

While corporations are prohibited from contributing to the SAAA PAC, Texas law does allow corporations to support their own affiliated PACs and to cover certain administrative and fundraising costs. Under Texas Election Code Section 253.100, a corporation may pay the overhead and administrative expenses of a general-purpose political committee it assists, as well as the costs of soliciting contributions from the corporation's own officers, directors, employees, and their families.

This means that while a corporate check cannot go into the SAAA PAC fund used for candidate contributions, a corporation may, for example, pay for its employees to attend a PAC fundraising event or cover the cost of PAC-related mailings sent to eligible individuals within the company. These uses must be tracked separately and do not constitute a political contribution for candidate-support purposes.

Bottom Line

Corporations can support PAC infrastructure and outreach. They cannot contribute funds used to support candidates. When in doubt, have your legal counsel review the specific use.

Reporting Requirements

The SAAA PAC files regular reports with the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) disclosing all contributions received and expenditures made. These reports are public record. The following information is required to be reported for every contribution:

Full name of the contributor
Mailing address
Occupation
Name of employer
Date and amount of the contribution

Contributions are not confidential. By contributing to the SAAA PAC, you acknowledge that this information will appear in publicly available TEC filings. SAAA will collect this information at the time of your contribution.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use my company American Express or Visa to donate?

Only if the card is a personal card, not a corporate account card. If the card is issued in your company's name or billed to your company's account, it is a corporate instrument and cannot be used for PAC contributions. Use a personal card tied to your individual account.

My LLC is just me. Can I use the LLC checking account?

If your LLC has no corporate ownership whatsoever, a single-member LLC owned entirely by an individual is generally treated the same as the individual and may contribute. However, if you are uncertain about your ownership structure, consult an attorney. The SAAA PAC may ask you to confirm the absence of corporate ownership in writing.

Can my property management company match my personal donation?

No. If the property management company is incorporated, it may not match or reimburse your personal PAC contribution. Doing so would constitute a prohibited corporate contribution. The company may, however, encourage employees to contribute and cover the administrative costs of that outreach.

Can a PAC from another organization contribute to the SAAA PAC?

General-purpose PACs may make contributions to other general-purpose PACs under Texas law, subject to the same prohibitions on corporate funds. A PAC funded by corporate treasury money operates under different rules and its funds cannot be transferred to candidate-contribution purposes.

Is there a limit on how much I can contribute?

Texas law does not impose contribution limits for individual donations to state-level PACs like the SAAA PAC. There is no annual cap on what an individual or eligible entity may contribute. Federal PAC rules, which apply to NAAPAC, do impose limits and are governed separately by the Federal Election Commission.

Questions about contribution eligibility? Contact SAAA K. Ryan Baldwin at 210.692.7797.

This page reflects Texas Ethics Commission rules and guidance current as of 2026. Laws may change. Consult legal counsel for advice specific to your situation.