Appeals court revives Empower Texans lawsuit seeking to gut the Texas Ethics Commission
The case had been dismissed by a Travis County judge, but an appeals court on Friday overturned that dismissal. Full Story
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![Michael Quinn Sullivan, president and CEO of Empower Texans, speaks during a Tea Party rally on the south steps of the Capitol in Austin on April 17, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas AG Ken Paxton says he received $84,000 in gifts for his legal defense in 2017
Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has been fighting securities fraud charges for most of his first term, received money from family friends and other personal connections for his legal defense, according to a newly released financial disclosure statement. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during a news conference on Jan. 12, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
This Texas lawmaker didn't file a campaign finance report for two years. Why didn't the state make him?
State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, went almost two years without filing any campaign or personal financial reports, racking up more than $50,000 in fines. He still hasn't paid anything and it's unclear whether any state agency has the power to make him. Full Story
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![Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, during a House Environmental Regulations Committee meeting on April 16, 2013.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Regulators fine Texas ag chief Sid Miller for sloppy accounting
The Texas Ethics Commission fined Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller a total of $2,750 to resolve two complaints accusing him of improper campaign accounting. Full Story
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![Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in his office in Austin, Sept. 14, 2016.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
Legislature approves bill requiring disclosure of government contracts
Politicians who make money off government contracts will have to disclose the work under a bill that got final approval in the Legislature Sunday. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Texas House approves online posting of politicians' personal financial statements
The Texas House preliminarily approved the requirement that the personal financial statements of state politicians and bureaucrats be posted online. Full Story
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![State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, shows his support of minimum wage bills being considered in the House Business and Industry Committee during a press conference March 20, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
By wading into energy policy, did Texas GOP chair break ethics law?
Texas GOP chairman Tom Mechler, an Amarillo oilman, insists that he wasn't lobbying when he asked the state to intervene in his clients' dispute with a pipeline giant. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
FBI, IRS agents raid state Sen. Carlos Uresti's law offices
FBI and IRS agents raided the law offices of Texas Sen. Carlos Uresti on Thursday morning, confiscating documents and other items. Full Story
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![Law enforcement officers from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service raid the San Antonio office of state Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, on Feb. 16, 2017.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A lavish benefit for Texas lawmakers could get even bigger
Regulators are deciding how much lobby wining and dining Texas lawmakers can accept without revealing their names. Hint: It's a lot. Full Story
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![State senators and staff listen to testimony at a Senate Committee on State Affairs hearing reviewing current ethics laws governing public officials and employees on Oct, 5, 2016.]()
Credit: Qiling Wang for The Texas Tribune -
Ethics commission ends long-running probe into Empower Texans
The Texas Ethics Commission on Thursday voted to end a long-running investigation into one of the state's most influential conservative groups. Full Story
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![Michael Quinn Sullivan, president and CEO of Empower Texans and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, at a 2012 Texas Tribune event.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Analysis: In Texas, Lawmakers Regulate Their Own Regulators
The Texas Ethics Commission regulates legislators. Legislators control the commission's laws and budget. It's a complicated relationship. Full Story
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![State Sens. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, and Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, listen to testimony at a Senate Committee on State Affairs hearing reviewing current ethics laws governing public officials and employees on Oct, 5, 2016.]()
Credit: Qiling Wang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senator Calls State Ethics Commission "Arrogant" and "Haughty"
“If you are untouchable, we’ve got a problem,” Sen. Brian Birdwell told the chairman of the commission, which is charged with making sure public officials and campaigns obey state ethics and elections laws. Full Story
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![State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, listens to testimony at a Senate Committee on State Affairs hearing reviewing current ethics laws governing public officials and employees on Oct, 5, 2016.]()
Credit: Qiling Wang for the Texas Tribune -
Analysis: "Smitty," a Texas Lobbyist for the Small Fry, Hanging It Up
Tom “Smitty” Smith, a colorful lobbyist and liberal activist who turned Public Citizen Texas into a strong voice on environmental, utility, consumer and ethics issues, is hanging up his spurs after 31 years. Full Story
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![Tom "Smitty" Smith is retiring from his longtime role as head of Public Citizen Texas, a nonprofit, left-leaning consumer rights advocacy group.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Ethics Commissioner Says He Won't Heed Patrick's Call to Resign
A member of the Texas Ethics Commission is rejecting what he says was an effort by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to get him to resign. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at a May 13, 2016 press conference.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Analysis: Texas Might Let Political Radio Ads Run Disclaimer-Free, But Feds Won't
The state of Texas might not be requiring sponsorship disclosures on political radio ads right now, but the Federal Communications Commission is. Full Story
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Analysis: Unaccountably Free Political Speech, for a Few Weeks in Texas
A regulatory wrinkle could strip an important piece of information from the political radio ads you hear in Texas between now and Election Day: Who’s paying for the commercials? Full Story
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Texas Ethics Commission Chases "Campaign in a Box" Spending
Commissioners are trying to open so-called “campaign in a box” disclosures, where candidates report their spending on consultants — but not on the specific campaign services those consultants are providing. Full Story
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Analysis: Hiding Texas Campaign Spending Details, Legally
The state is trying to regulate what some have called the “campaign in a box,” when a candidate reports writing one big check to a consultant, who then handles all of the campaign spending off the books. Full Story
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![The Texas Ethics Commission is considering rules that would require political consultants to report their spending in the same way that candidates are required to do.]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The Long and Winding Road to the Texas Ethics Commission
It's harder to appoint people to the Texas Ethics Commission than to other agencies. The politics are difficult. But it's also easy to just let it slide — and let commissioners serve for years after their terms end. Full Story
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Credit: John Jordan -
More than 300 Gubernatorial Appointees Have Expired Terms
Gov. Greg Abbott has made hundreds of appointments since he took office in January 2015, but is still working his way out of a backlog to replace people whose terms expired as long as five years ago. Full Story
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![Governor Greg Abbott announced an expansion of the Governor’s Commission for Women at the Governor’s Mansion in Austin, TX on Wednesday, March 30th.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles/ Texas Tribune
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