H.B. No. 551 amends the Election Code to enhance the privacy of individuals involved in political contributions and expenditures. The bill introduces a new requirement for the Texas Ethics Commission to include a designated space on reports to indicate whether the address of an individual receiving a political expenditure is a residence address. Additionally, it mandates that before making these reports available online, the commission must remove specific address details, retaining only the city, state, and zip code for contributors and recipients whose addresses are marked as residential.

Furthermore, the bill clarifies that the removed address information must still be accessible in the physical reports maintained at the commission's office, but it cannot be made available electronically. The changes will apply to reports filed on or after January 1, 2026, and the act is set to take effect on September 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Election Code 254.036, Election Code 254.0401 (Election Code 254)
House Committee Report: Election Code 254.036, Election Code 254.0401 (Election Code 254)
Engrossed: Election Code 254.036, Election Code 254.0401 (Election Code 254)
Senate Committee Report: Election Code 254.036, Election Code 254.0401 (Election Code 254)
Enrolled: Election Code 254.036, Election Code 254.0401 (Election Code 254)