Legislators Can Carry Bills That Benefit Them
This is one in a series of occasional stories about ethics and transparency in the part-time Texas Legislature.
Sen. John Carona, the founder of Associa, the nation’s largest homeowners association management firm, recalls facing allegations of conflicts of interest in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the Dallas Republican carried legislation aimed at governing such property owners’ groups.
In 2001, he authored the state’s biggest homeowners association law to date, a measure he said provided a “property owner’s bill of rights” without weakening homeowners associations.
Opponents argued that the law did not go far enough to ...
Comments (15)
Denise Norris via Texas Tribune on Facebook
No they shouldn't. It should be considered a conflict of interest.
Twila Read via Texas Tribune on Facebook
No!
Dianna Pharr via Texas Tribune on Facebook
No
Cindy Rhoton Cook via Texas Tribune on Facebook
You can guarantee that they will continue giving themselves raises and benefits while refusing to recognize the need for health coverage for Texans.
Christine Lund
If Van de Putte had to sell her family business then we need all the others to do the same. Now.
Christine Lund
How can we set the salaries, raises and benefits? They have no right to make these decisions.
Joseph Lippert via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Reminds of a Baltimore City Councilman, who owned a bar, when asked if his sponsorship of a bill favoring bar owners was a conflict of interest, replied, "There's no conflict with my interest."
Jill Phillips Rodarmer via Texas Tribune on Facebook
No! No!
D W
and we wonder why we get such ...lame work from our legislatures. they are working to improve them lots, never mind yours. every thing they say that sounds about right is for political reasons, and has nothing to do with what they do.
and the complain about DC??????
Robert Gartner
The entire legislature should be listening to Harold Dutton. I am grateful that we have one who cares about family and the so called non custodials. The Texas Family Code needs to account for many travesties and evils. The activities in family courts today are producing droves of alienated children from the Non custodial. It panders to narcissistic parents. Welcome to Texas where we destroy the father and many mothers too through the children.
Avinash Rangra
Of course they can. They can do whatever they want to. They own the place. Watch them exempt themselves from TOMA.
Stephen E Southwell via Texas Tribune on Facebook
No, they should live by the same laws they passed that apply to local elected officials. Legislators should not be allowed to carry, advocate, or even vote on a bill in which they have a specific pecuniary interest, unless a majority of the other house members have that same interest.
Hunter Ryan via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Keep up the work you guys.
Dale Curry
One party (republican) control of our State has given us so much, Should we be surprised the level of institutional corruption and conflict of interest permeates the very process and institutions of the Citizens of Texas? Frankly, this article recalls the old adage, "Garbage in, Garbage out!"
Rudy Gonzales
Texas needs "Initiative and Referendum" to counter the one-sided antics of the TEA-Republicans running the state. Perry is one of the most incompetent and inept governors since reconstruction. Back to the subject: Texas state Legislature ethics and transparency is non-existent when legislators can carry and support legislation like state Senator John Corona, Rep. Gary Elkins and Larry Taylor of Friendswood, Texas. Larry Taylor of Friendswood is the poster boy for chairing Insurance Board, proposing and passing legislation for insurance companies and sponsoring insurance industry legislation. Larry Taylor of Friendswood is now crying about 1.2 Billion going into litigation, when he and all the other TEA-Republicans in Austin failed their fiduciary function for and to the people of Texas! Had the Leaders of out state provided competent oversight with due diligence there would not be this great impasse. Larry Taylor of Friendswood went bat for the incompetents overseeing inspectors who failed the insured's of Texas. An insurance owner/player charged with governing the very people who would were to help and assist families in their time of disaster, worked to defend administration rather than apply thde full brunt of the laws currently on the books.
(Re-posting) - TWIA(Texas Windstorm Insurance Association) is back in the news again! TWIA, a state pseudo-insurance consortium, has not addressed the Texas insurance situation when it comes to windstorm protection. State leaders in Austin over the past ten to fifteen years have grossly failed the people of Texas by allowing insurance companies to dictate terms for doing business in Texas! The inaction of those in charge and the fiduciary failures coming out of state agencies charged with protecting the people have enhanced the pockets of the insurance companies. Their failures have now progressed to the point where Texans may have to foot the bill for windstorm damages, while management and administrators of this state agency make off with full bank accounts. Since inception of this program, there have been people making decisions for and towards protecting insurance companies rather than insured's of Texas. Since inception, there has been gross failures by those charged with implementing this program. How many time has this agency been audited, by whom, what was found, what was disclosed, who was managing the funds and how were funds protected, invested and enhanced for the benefit of the people of Texas? None of this has been totally disclosed or disseminated. Facts prove the Legislature itself is at fault for failure to provide adequate and outside oversight of the administration and funds involved. The Texas Legislature has been under the charge of TEA-Republican's and thus willing to allow the people to go under and at their expense. The Texas Legislature failed in their fiduciary responsibility for the people and catered to the industry lobby.
Passing legislation to limit litigation cost is not proper, as that is the true finger on the trigger to keep insurance companies honest. I reinterate my call for a full audit of all expenses retro-actively to inception of this pseudo-state insurance consortium, management, administrators, employees, internal and out-side consultants. The Texas Department of Insurance is ultimately responsible for adequate and full review of the inadequately functioning divisions.