Political activities & contributions

The political activities of our company, our officers and employees are regulated by national, state and local laws and regulations. Political activities in the U.S. are managed by Stephen Bonner, vice president of government relations, who reports to Christine Witzsche, senior vice president of communications and investor relations. Bonner was elected as an officer by the TI board of directors. The governance and stockholder relations committee of the TI board of directors, pursuant to its statement of responsibilities, has oversight for and reviews the political activities of the corporation and its officers and employees. This includes review of the company's memberships in trade associations and its policy on political expenditures.

We have well-established policies and practices that facilitate lawful participation by the company and employees in the political process. These policies and practices define both the activities in which we engages, and the responsibilities and practices of our political action committee.

In managing its corporate political activities, TI distinguishes between the following types of corporate political activities:

• Activities relating to individual candidate campaigns for elective office: Federal laws and the laws of some states, including Texas (where we are headquartered), prohibit the use of corporate resources by the company or its employees for support of individual candidate campaigns for elective office. Consistent with these laws, we do not allow corporate resources to be used to support individual candidates or multi-candidate campaign committees. In addition, we do not use corporate resources to support federal, state or local political parties, or to make independent expenditures. As permitted by law, our company pays the administrative expenses of the Texas Instruments Political Action Committee, discussed in the TI PAC section.


• Activities relating to ballot measures, initiatives and referenda: When permitted by applicable law, we may utilize corporate resources, including financial contributions, to support or oppose state and local ballot measures, initiatives and referenda. In practice, this type of activity most frequently occurs in the form of financial support for a local government bond authorization or initiative campaigns in communities where we have facilities and the presence of a significant number of employees. All such contributions must be reviewed by the vice president of government relations and align with our business or community interests, and not those of any individual officer or executive. A listing of corporate contributions to ballot measures, initiatives and referenda can be found here. This information is updated semiannually.


• Activities relating to executive or legislative policy decisions (lobbying): We believe in the principle of responsible corporate participation in federal, state and local public policy debates on matters affecting the business of the company. Participation in public policy formation is viewed by our company as an element of corporate social responsibility.

As permitted by law, corporate resources are used to support lobbying activities including staffing and expenses of the TI government relations organization and other employees who engage in lobbying activities. Corporate resources are also used to hire consultants to support lobbying, pay dues for associations and membership organizations that engage in lobbying, and support lobbying coalitions created to advocate for specific public policy outcomes. A listing of TI memberships in trade associations that engage in lobbying activities in the U.S. can be found here. We do not contribute to 501(C)(4) organizations for the purposes of making political contributions or influencing elections.

We closely monitor lobby registration and reporting requirements of federal, state and local government, as well as tax laws and regulations relating to lobbying, to ensure compliance by the corporation, its officers and employees with applicable law. As required by law, we file documentation detailing its lobbying activities with appropriate federal and state government entities.

We provide annual (biannual in the case of Texas) training for relevant employees on their responsibilities under the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, the Lobby Disclosure Act, the Federal Election Campaign Act, and under relevant state laws in Texas, California and Maine. This training is part of ongoing efforts to ensure that lobbying activity and funding are accounted for year-round and properly disclosed.

Each year our governance and shareholder relations committee reviews our company's political expenditures and confirms that its political expenditures are consistent with the company's policies.

The TI Political Action Committee (PAC) is 100% employee-funded, regulated, transparent and nonpartisan. The TI PAC enables employees to voluntarily join together to support federal, state and local political candidates whose positions align with our company’s business objectives.

The TI PAC board of trustees is chaired by the vice president of worldwide government relations. The board oversees the TI PAC activities and approves contributions to political candidates based on several criteria including candidates’ voting records and positions that align with TI’s business priorities and values, political effectiveness and leadership, committee assignments and TI site representation.

The TI PAC is highly transparent and regulated. All contributions and expenditures are disclosed to the public through monthly reports with the Federal Ethics Commission and Texas Ethics Commission available on their respective websites. The corporation bears administrative expenses for the TI PAC, as permitted by law. Neither TI nor the TI PAC contributes to national, state or local political parties or political organizations created under 26 U.S.C §527.

The TI PAC contributions to candidates for federal, state and local office in the current and prior election cycles can be found here. This section is updated semi-annually. TI's Corporate Audit team audits the TI PAC periodically.

As citizens, our employees have the right to participate individually in the political process. To ensure that individual campaign activity does not inadvertently result in our company making an impermissible corporate political contribution or restrict our ability to do business, we follow these policies regarding employee political activity:

• Our employees are required to consult with the vice president of government relations before becoming a candidate for elective office or using their affiliation or title with us in any political context that could cause someone to believe that their actions reflect the views or position of Texas Instruments. Use of corporate resources or assets (such as corporate facilities, communications assets or personnel) in connection with personal political activity by employees is prohibited.


• Certain state and local jurisdictions have laws that prohibit corporations from engaging in government contracts if an employee (and in some cases even a spouse or child of the employee) makes or solicits political contributions to a candidate for elective office in that jurisdiction. In those jurisdictions, employees must obtain approval from the vice president of government relations before making or soliciting political contributions for a candidate seeking local, state or federal office.


• Federal and certain state laws regulate or prohibit employees of corporations from "bundling" political contributions – the process of physically collecting and forwarding multiple political contributions from individuals to a candidate for elective office. Our employees are prohibited from engaging in bundling of political contributions of other employees without the prior approval from the vice president of government relations.