(a) The chair shall transfer in an orderly manner to his or her successor or the appropriate county committee all primary-election records, including financial records listed under §81.107 of this chapter (relating to Primary-Fund Records), required by law to be maintained or within the 30th day after the date the term of office of a new county chair begins, whichever comes first (in accordance with Texas Election Code §171.028).     
      (b) Texas Election Code §171.028 provides a criminal penalty for failure to transfer records to the new county chair.     
      (c) If a vacancy occurs in the office of county chair, the county executive committee shall appoint an individual to serve as the custodian of primary-election records until a new county chair is appointed or elected.     
      (d) If the final cost report has not been finalized at the time the records are transferred or a vacancy occurs, it is the responsibility of the incoming chair or the appointed custodian and the outgoing chair to determine how best to complete the primary finance process, including the disbursement of the county chair compensation.     
      (e) Payments issued by the Comptroller of Public Accounts will be payable to the county party chair, not the individual's name, as described in §81.103(b) of this chapter (relating to Bank Account for Primary-Fund Deposits and Expenditures). Therefore, it is the responsibility of the individual with access to the primary fund established pursuant to §81.102 of this chapter (relating to Primary Funds Defined) and §81.103 of this chapter to ensure final payment(s) from the primary fund are issued properly to close-out the financing of the Primary.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §81.108 adopted to be effective November 18, 2003, 28 TexReg 10201; amended to be effective December 9, 2007, 32 TexReg 9105; amended to be effective March 7, 2012, 37 TexReg 1483; amended to be effective January 9, 2014, 39 TexReg 209; amended to be effective November 9, 2015, 40 TexReg 7811