Behested payments: reporting

The law gives the public more information about who funds charitable, governmental, or legislative payments requested by officials, including potential ties to the recipient and pending matters involving the payer.

What the law does ​

• Requires reports within 30 days after the quarter ends once behested payments from one source reach $5,000 in a calendar year.
• Requires additional reports after each subsequent $1,000 in aggregate payments from that source during the year.
• Requires electronic filing through the commission’s behested-payment system, with immediate electronic receipt confirmation, subject to a local-government filing alternative with online posting.
• Requires reports, when known, to disclose officials’, family members’, or staff members’ roles or employment with a nonprofit payee and relevant agency proceedings involving the payer within the prior 12 months.
• Allows good-faith estimates when exact payment information cannot be obtained despite reasonable efforts, followed by a corrected filing within 10 days after receiving the information.

Who it affects ​

• Elected officers and members of the Public Utilities Commission who request qualifying payments.
• Businesses, individuals, and other nongovernmental payers that make qualifying requested payments.
• Nonprofit organizations receiving requested payments.
• Local governments that use the alternative local filing process.

Context ​

Qualifying payments are those requested by an official or commission member without full consideration and made chiefly for charitable, legislative, or governmental purposes.