U.S. Chamber Challenges Texas Court Ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce filed a friend-of-the-court brief challenging a Texas trial court order requiring the Texas Association of Business and others to disclose information about political mailings – including the names of those who solicited or expended funds for this political speech – without first finding that those mailings contained express words of electoral advocacy.

"Texas lacks the authority to regulate independent political speech unless the speech contains express advocacy," said Stephen Bokat, executive vice president of the Chamber's National Chamber Litigation Center. "That determination must be made as a threshold matter in order to preserve First Amendment rights."

During the 2002 state election cycle, the Texas Association of Business and its political action committee provided voters with information on races for the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate through direct mailings. An unsuccessful candidate for the Texas House, James Sylvester, sued, alleging that these mailings violated various provisions of the Texas Election Code, including coordination with candidates. The business groups have denied coordinating their mailings with candidates for office.

In a case with far-reaching free speech implications for the business community, the National Chamber Litigation Center – the public policy legal arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – argued that the trial court erred when it ordered the Texas Association of Business, its president William Hammond, and the group's political action committee, to disclose information about political mailings.

"Independent political speech can justify compelled disclosure only if the speech contains express words of electoral advocacy," said Bokat. "The trial court made no finding that the speech at issue contained such advocacy."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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