For Ethics Commission, Big Hurdles to Reform
This is one in a series of occasional stories about ethics and transparency in the part-time Texas Legislature.
Shortly after the close of the 82nd Legislature, state Sen. Mike Jackson made an unusual request. The La Porte Republican asked Gov. Rick Perry to veto a measure he had just amended.
Jackson's amendment, added to an ethics bill passed in the last 48 hours of the regular legislative session, was meant to eliminate fines against candidates and officeholders who make innocent clerical errors on their campaign finance reports. As written and quickly passed, it would have required the state to ...
Comments (4)
Jalapeño Schwartz via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Tex Legis lamest ever! Fat cats Rule!
Casey Bennett via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I think that if you dig hard enough into every little nook and cranny,,,,that we wouldn't have a legislature to worry about. As long as it all remains open to the public scrutiny, the true watchdogs,,,,then we don't need a major reform.
Jim Vance
There are many things which could improve campaign finance reporting, but two of the most important would be: 1) require all filings, whether local, city/county or statewide for anyone running for an elected office or a political action committee of any and all types, to be made in electronic form that would provide content identical with the paper versions filed at the mandatory locations (local county clerk or TEC) and create an Internet-accessible, searchable online database with the capability to produce simple query reports for printing or generate data summaries for download in various user-selectable formats, and 2) establish uniform mandatory requirements for the last reporting period of 3 days prior to any election, regardless of whether that election involves any public elected office, statewide Constitutional amendment, local bond issue or other ballot initiative with a mandatory reporting requirement.
Christine Lund
When the cat's away, the mice will play. So they put the mice in charge. Good plan.
This state has no priorities other than those paid for by big business. Look what we had to do to get janitors a raise from the wealthiest corporations in the world. Only embarrassment made them give in. What kind of people are we letting do business in this state?
If there were any ethics in this state, we wouldn't still have slaves. And when an industry where 75% of the workers are women, get paid $2 an hour plus tips(?), we still support slavery in Texas. When women are refused healthcare and old people are left to fend for themselves in a state where AR15s are in every neighborhood. Gangs and big business are actually the same thing here in Texas.