POC Background

Background

• The requirements for candidate and lobbyist disclosures are set by the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) [http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/main/local.htm].
• Local candidate and lobbyist disclosures are filed not with the State, but with the Austin City Clerk.
• City takes filings on paper (or PDF versions of the forms).
• The filings are posted online but are not easily searchable [http://www.austintexas.gov/department/campaign-finance-reports].
• In April, the City Council passed a resolution to create an online, searchable database of campaign and lobbyist filings.
• Initial staff estimates to implement have come back with:
  • about 800K cost
  • about a year development
  • solution based on proprietary technology
• In a meeting organized by Councilmember Morrison, City Staff was open to the idea of a "civic sourced" effort to help reduce costs and time.

Hackathon Goal

Produce a "proof of concept" prototype that:

• Allows online filing of required campaign (Form C/OH) and lobbyist (Form SPAC) finance information
• Performs sanity checks on the filing data
• Stores data in an easily accessible form, to facilitate public review and analysis

Prototype User Stories

Story 1: Candidate/Office Holder files form C/OH

• The candidate retrieves a spreadsheet template that we provide.
• The candidate enters all of the details for the Candidate/Office Holder (C/OH) report schedules into the spreadsheet.
• The candidate visits a web page for the C/OH filing.
• The candidate uploads the report schedules spreadsheet.
• The spreadsheet contents are validated.
• If validation fails, the upload is rejected, and the user is given detailed diagnostic information.
• If the validation succeeds, the user is prompted for the fields to complete the C/OH form, enters the information, and submits.
• The user is prompted to correct any fields in the C/OH form that fail validation.
• The user confirms submission of the validated C/OH form and schedules.
• That form and schedule content are saved to the data store.

Story 2: Special Purpose Committee files form SPAC

• Follows same flow as C/OH story.

Prioritization of Schedules

TBD -- need to identify which schedules are: required, desired, optional

Form C/OH

http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/forms/coh.pdf

• Schedule A: Political Contributions other than Pledges or Loans
• Schedule B: Pledged Contributions
• Schedule E: Loans
• Schedule F: Political Expenditures
• Schedule G: Political Expenditures Made from Personal Funds
• Schedule H: Payment from Political Contributions to a Business of C/OH
• Schedule I: Non-Political Expenditures made from Political Contributions
• Schedule K: Interest Earned, Other Credits/Gains/Refunds, and Purchase of Investments
• Schedule T: In-Kind Contribution or Political Expenditure for Travel Outside of Texas

Form SPAC

http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/forms/spac.pdf

• Schedule A: Political Contributions other than Pledges or Loans
• Schedule B: Pledged Contributions
• Schedule C: Corporate or Labor Organization Contributions other than Pledges or Loans
• Schedule D: Pledged Corporate or Labor Contributions
• Schedule E: Loans
• Schedule F: Political Expenditures
• Schedule H: Payment from Political Contributions to a Busines of C/OH
• Schedule I: Non-Political Expenditures made from Political Contributions
• Schedule J: Political Contributions Returned to Committee
• Schedule K: Interest Earned, Other Credits/Gains/Refunds, and Purchase of Investments
• Schedule T: In-Kind Contribution or Political Expenditure for Travel Outside of Texas

Technology Framework

Discussion of technology framework for implementation is TBD.