Bylaws
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE BYLAWS 2026-2028
ARTICLE I – NAME
The name of this organization is the “Travis County Republican Executive Committee”, hereafter referred to as the “Executive Committee”.
ARTICLE II – PURPOSE
To advance the political interests and effectiveness of Travis County Republicans, complying with laws governing parties nominating by primary, the Executive Committee shall:
A) Promote and support the election of Republican candidates to public office
B) Perform the duties specified in the Texas Election Code (“TEC”) and the Republican Party of Texas (“RPT”) Rules for a county executive committee
C) Cooperate with RPT and the national Republican Party in carrying out programs that support the Republican Party of Texas Platform, Republican candidates and policies
D) Assist the County Chairman in raising sufficient funds to support the activities of the Travis County Republican Party
E) Observe all state and federal election laws and promote election integrity
F) Participate in the administration of the biennial primary, performing the roles specified in the TEC and other applicable laws
G) Assist in organizing the biennial precinct conventions and senatorial district conventions and associated fundraising, as specified in RPT Rules and applicable laws
ARTICLE III – MEMBERS
Section 1 – Membership:
The Executive Committee shall consist of the County Chairman, who is the presiding officer, and the Precinct Chairmen of the respective election precincts in the county, all of whom are elected biennially [TEC 171.022].
Section 2 – Eligibility:
To be eligible to be a candidate for or to serve as a precinct chairman or county chairman, a person must be a qualified voter residing within the bounds of the entity represented and must have voted in the most recent Republican primary [TEC 161.005; 162.001; 162.012; 171.023].
Section 3 – Term of Office:
Each committee member serves for a term of two (2) years beginning the 20th day after the primary runoff election day [TEC 171.022(c)].
Section 4 – Vacancies:
Vacancies in the office of Precinct Chairman are filled as provided in Article VII of these bylaws.
ARTICLE IV – OFFICERS
Section 1.
In addition to the County Chairman, the Elected Officers of the Executive Committee shall be the Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer. The County Chairman may also appoint or retain other appointive offices, including a Parliamentarian and a Sergeant-at-Arms, as required.
A) The Elected Officers shall be nominated by any member of the Executive Committee, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee. Voting may be conducted by secret paper ballot. Officers are not required to be members of the Executive Committee; but officers who are not members may not vote on business before the body. Elected Officers must have voted in the most recent Republican Primary election.
B) Elected Officers can be dismissed by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting at an Executive Committee meeting, where the removal has been noticed in the agenda. Elected officers can also be dismissed by the County Chairman, with the consent of a simple majority of those present and voting of the Executive Committee, where the dismissal has been noticed in the agenda. Appointed officers shall serve at the pleasure of the County Chairman.
Section 2.
The term of office of the officers shall be concurrent with that of the Executive Committee, except that in the event of a vacancy in the office of County Chairman, the appointed officers shall serve only until the election of a new County Chairman.
Section 3.
A vacancy in the office of County Chairman must be filled in accordance with the provisions of the Texas Election Code [TEC 171.025]. A majority of the membership of the Executive Committee must participate in an election to fill a vacancy in the office of County Chairman [TEC 171.024(b)].
Section 4. Duties of the officers shall be:
A. County Chairman – shall coordinate all activities of the Executive Committee, serve as presiding officer of the Executive Committee, be the primary fundraiser for the organization, be the spokesman of the Travis County Republican Party, and ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, the Rules of the Republican Party of Texas and these by-laws. The County Chairman shall have the power to suspend committee activities when serious statutory, legal, or financial liability could be incurred, or the Chairman views the brand of the party at serious risk, and shall issue a report to the Executive Committee. The County Chairman shall be an ex officio member of the standing and special committees of the Executive Committee.
B. Vice Chairman – shall assist the Chairman as requested. In the event of the Chairman’s absence or inability to serve, the Vice Chairman shall preside at meetings of the Executive Committee and serve as acting Chairman in all other respects until the Chairman resumes his or her duties or until a new Chairman is elected.
C. Secretary – shall carry out the usual duties of that office, keeping an up-to-date roll of the Executive Committee members, ensuring that each member receives timely notice of all meetings, keeping minutes of the meetings of the Executive Committee and maintaining a permanent file of the minutes of all Executive Committee meetings. In the event of a vacancy in the office of County Chairman, the Secretary shall call a meeting of the Executive Committee for the purpose of electing a new Chairman, as required by the Texas Election Code [TEC 171.025 (a)].
D. Treasurer – shall make and maintain all necessary and appropriate financial records for the Executive Committee, comply with all applicable state and federal statutes and regulations relating to the reporting of contributions and expenditures, shall prepare monthly reports of the financial condition of the Travis County Republican Party for presentation to the Executive Committee as requested by the Chairman, and shall make such monthly reports available for review by any member of the Executive Committee at a reasonable time and place. For every cash expenditure exceeding one-hundred dollars ($100) the Treasurer shall obtain and retain a receipt or invoice identifying the goods or services purchased, the amount paid, the date of purchase, and the party requesting or authorizing the expenditure, consistent with generally accepted accounting practices. No cash expenditure exceeding one-hundred dollars ($100) shall be recorded in the financial records of the Travis County Republican Party absent such documentation.
E. Parliamentarian – shall advise the Chairman on the proper procedures for conducting the meetings of the Executive Committee, as requested by the Chairman.
F. Sergeant-at-Arms – shall be responsible for maintaining proper order and decorum at the meetings of the Executive Committee, as requested by the Chairman.
Section 5.
The Chairman and Treasurer shall submit a budget at least annually to the Executive Committee for its approval. Any recurring expenditure that appears in the adopted budget shall be considered approved by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE V – MEETINGS
Section 1.
The Executive Committee shall meet at all times required by the Texas Election Code and shall have at least one regular meeting each quarter.
Section 2.
Regular and statutory meetings shall be called by the County Chairman. Special meetings of the Executive Committee may be called by the County Chairman. The purpose and order of business of the meeting must be stated in the call for any statutory, regular or special meeting called by the Chairman. Special meetings also may be called by written petition signed by twenty-five percent (25%) of the members of the Executive Committee and delivered to the Chairman or to the Secretary at least 20 days before the desired meeting date. The purpose and order of business of the meeting must be stated in the petition and the call for any special meeting called by petition of the members.
Section 3.
Notice of all meetings shall be sent by the Secretary to each member of the Executive Committee by mail or e-mail at least seven (7) days in advance.
Section 4.
A quorum for all meetings required by the Texas Election Code in which only statutorily required business is conducted shall be those members present at the meeting [RPT Rule 9.b]. A quorum for the conduct of any other business except filling vacancies shall be twenty-five percent (25%) of the members of the Executive Committee, including the County Chairman [RPT Rule 9.a and Article III above].
Section 5.
The County Chairman shall propose the agenda for all regular meetings of the Executive Committee, which shall include New Business. It shall be in order during New Business to propose agenda items for future executive committee meetings. Provided those items are lawful, consistent with RPT Rules and these bylaws, and within the purview of the Executive Committee, those items shall be added to the next regular meeting’s agenda.
Section 6.
The Executive Committee shall have approval authority over expenditures not previously included in the adopted budget if they exceed a discretionary budget provided to the County Chairman. When sufficient funds are available, the County Chairman shall have the option to make imminent expenditures that are time sensitive between regular meetings but shall report such expenditures and the reason they had to be taken prior to the meeting at the next regular Executive Committee meeting. The Executive Committee may order an audit by an independent Certified Public Accountant of the books, records, and financial statements of the party for the past two years, if the members requesting the audit have raised or donated funds dedicated to pay for it, and the party officers and staff shall cooperate reasonably with such audit.
ARTICLE VI – COMMITTEES
Section 1.
The following Standing Committees are hereby established, with duties as noted. The County Chairman may assign additional duties to a standing committee:
a. Nominations, which recruits, screens and nominates individuals to fill vacancies in the office of Precinct Chairman
b. Rules, which considers proposed amendments to these bylaws or special rules of the party and on request of the County Chairman or Executive Committee, provides advice on interpretation of party rules
c. Resolutions, which reviews, revises, and makes recommendations on resolutions proposed by members of the Executive Committee
d. Data and Technology, which assists precinct chairmen and executive committee members with data and information to help turn out voters friendly to the party and provides assistance and oversight for the party’s website, email notification lists, and social media presence
Section 2.
The Executive Committee may create additional committees, at a duly called meeting, for purposes not already assigned to the committees referenced in the previous section. Committees created under this section may be either special committees appointed for a specific task or standing committees whose duration lasts for the remainder of the Executive Committee’s term.
Section 3.
The County Chairman shall appoint chairmen of committees, subject to confirmation of the Executive Committee at a duly called meeting.
Section 4.
Committee chairmen may name members to their committees, with the consent of either the County Chairman or Executive Committee. The County Chairman may name members to any committee, with the consent of that committee’s chairman or the Executive Committee. This section does not apply to the Nominations committee.
Section 5.
Committee chairmen can be removed by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting at an Executive Committee meeting, where the removal has been noticed in the agenda. Committee chairmen may also be removed by the County Chairman, with the consent of a simple majority present and voting of the Executive Committee, at a meeting where the removal has been noticed on the agenda. With the consent of the Executive Committee, the County Chairman may remove members of a committee.
Section 6.
Notice of a meeting of any TCRP Committee shall be sent to the Secretary who shall forward the notice to all members of the Executive Committee at least three days prior to the Committee meeting.
ARTICLE VII – NOMINATIONS
Section 1.
Any vacancy in the office of precinct chairman may be filled by appointment of the Executive Committee, as provided for in this Article. To fill a vacancy, a person must receive a majority vote of the committee members voting [TEC 171.024] and must be eligible to serve as a precinct chairman. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the members of the executive committee must participate in the election to fill a vacancy in the office of Precinct Chairman [TEC 171.024(c) and RPT Rule 9.a].
Section 2.
An individual interested in serving as the Precinct Chairman in a precinct that is vacant must apply to the County Chairman, the County Chairman’s designee, or the Secretary, who shall refer the application to the Nominations Committee and ensure that both the County Chairman and Secretary have copies of the application. The Nominations Committee shall consider the nominations and make a report to the Executive Committee for its vote [RPT Rule 8.i]. The committee may make a recommendation on a nominee and shall include the recent primary voting history confirmed by GOP Data Center or other reliable source of the applicant in its report.
Section 3.
Either the County Chairman or the Nominations Committee chairman may propose members to add to the nominations committee. The membership of the nominations committee is subject to confirmation by the Executive Committee. During the first 90 days after the organizational meeting, an appointee to the nominations committee may serve pending a confirmation vote.
Section 4.
The Executive Committee may establish a deadline for nominations to be submitted to the Committee for consideration at a given meeting. Such a deadline may be suspended in the same manner as provided for suspension of the rules. If an application was timely submitted to the nominations committee, action on that application is in order at the next Executive Committee meeting.
ARTICLE VIII – RESOLUTIONS
Section 1.
Resolutions that state the opinion of the Travis County Republican Party on any public policy matter fall under the resolutions committee. Resolutions of Censure under Republican Party of Texas rules also fall under the purview of the Resolutions Committee. Resolutions on other topics such as party operations or budget may be referred to other committees by the County Chairman or presented to the Executive Committee without referral.
Section 2.
All resolutions must be filed by a deadline established by the Committee (announced at least three days prior) and comply with any resolutions standards approved by the Executive Committee, unless waived by a three-fifths majority (present and voting) of the Executive Committee.
Section 3.
The Resolutions Committee may delay a resolution for one meeting to allow the author to consolidate resolutions or improve the clarity of the resolutions or address other concerns the committee may have. After that time has passed, the Executive Committee may discharge a resolution from the committee by a simple majority vote of those present and voting.
Section 4.
The Resolutions Committee may consider compliance with Republican Party of Texas rules on Censure resolutions and may note any compliance concerns in its report to the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE IX – PUBLICATION OF BY-LAWS
A copy of these by-laws, as adopted or amended by the Executive Committee, shall be posted and maintained on the Travis County Republican Party website.
ARTICLE X – STAFF POLICY
Paid staff members shall remain neutral in intraparty contests for both public and Party offices. The Executive Committee shall approve the terms and conditions of any employment contract or personal services contract funded by general party funds, which specifically excludes any fund restricted by statute such as the primary fund. The Chairman shall determine the selection of staff. Any such contract may not be made binding on a future Chairman without approval of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE XI – PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Executive Committee in all cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws, any special rules the Executive Committee may adopt, the rules of the Republican Party of Texas, or applicable law.
ARTICLE XII – AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS
Section 1.
Amendments to the Bylaws may be made by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present, a quorum being in attendance.
Section 2.
Any member of the Executive Committee desiring to propose an amendment to these Bylaws must submit a written copy of the proposed amendment to the Secretary prior to the start of any regular meeting of the Executive Committee. At such meeting the proposed amendment shall be read to the members present and then referred to the Rules Committee for its consideration. The Rules Committee shall report its recommendation concerning the proposed amendment to the Executive Committee at its next regular meeting.
Approved June 27, 2026, Austin, Texas
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