Vendors covering certain primary-election services and materials must bill the secretary of state directly, and county officials have a role in directing and reviewing invoices.
Sec. 173.0833. DIRECT BILLING OF CERTAIN PRIMARY EXPENSES. (a) This section applies to election services and materials provided by a vendor for use in a primary election or primary runoff election, including: (1) the printing of paper ballot material containing candidates' names used in a polling place; (2) the programming and testing of voting system equipment, including ballot layout, programming of equipment, and audio production; (3) site support or technical support other than the programming or testing of voting system equipment; (4) nonballot election materials used in a precinct on election day, including election kits, required party stamps, distance signs, and required forms; and (5) the rental of non-county-owned electronic voting system equipment, including media components. (b) A vendor providing election services or materials to a county chair or a county election officer contracting with a county chair for a primary or runoff primary election shall directly bill the secretary of state for the cost of the services or materials used on election day for which state funding is available under this chapter. (c) The county chair or the county election officer contracting with the county chair for whom a vendor provides election services or materials to be directly billed to the secretary of state under this section: (1) shall direct the vendor to remit final invoices to the secretary of state for payment; and (2) may examine an invoice for accuracy after the invoice is submitted to the secretary of state for payment. (d) If after a review under Subsection (c)(2) an adjustment is required, the county chair or county election officer shall notify the vendor and the secretary of state. The vendor shall submit a corrected invoice and the secretary of state shall adjust the payment accordingly. (e) An invoice submitted to the secretary of state by a vendor for payment under this section must be in an electronic spreadsheet format prescribed by the secretary of state and list each county to which the vendor provides election services or materials. For each county to which a vendor provides election services or materials a submission must include: (1) the name of the political party; (2) the invoice number; (3) the date of submission; (4) the number of ballots printed, if any; (5) whether an order for ballot printing or programming of voting system equipment was placed by the county chair or an entity contracting with the county chair to hold the primary; and (6) the specific type of election services or materials provided. (f) A vendor may not submit an invoice directly billing the secretary of state for a primary election expense required to be paid by the county under Section 173.003. (g) The direct payment by the secretary of state of an invoice under this section does not affect the payments calculated for county chairs under Section 173.004 or compensation of a county election officer under Section 31.100. (h) The secretary of state may adopt rules as necessary to implement this section. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 828 (H.B. 1735), Sec. 59, eff. September 1, 2017.