The latest Texas Ethics Commission news from The Texas Tribune.
Proposed ethics reform legislation underwent a significant overhaul Thursday in a Senate committee. Gone is the plan to take state pensions from lawbreaking lawmakers. Also out: a proposal to stop legislators from cashing in on a piece of the public debt business. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott wants ethics reform, but the legislation working its way through the Senate faces major revisions as early as Monday. The debate demonstrates how difficult it is for legislators to change the rules that govern their own behavior. Full Story
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Legislators frustrated and angry with public corruption prosecutions in Travis County want to move them somewhere else. But the problems are likely to tag along: It's always hard to prosecute the people who pay for the prosecutors. Full Story
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A frustrated regulator's letter suggesting the state drop enforcement of its ethics laws might spark some legislative action. That would be a gift for Gov. Greg Abbott, who wants ethics to be a signature issue this session. Full Story
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The Texas Ethics Commission can't do its job if compliance is "wholly voluntary," says one member who thinks the commission should stop all enforcement activities in response to a judge's recent dismissal of its ruling against conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan. Full Story
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A new judge Wednesday reaffirmed the dismissal of a ruling by the Texas Ethics Commission against conservative power broker Michael Quinn Sullivan. Full Story
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State law requires lobbyists to report what they spend on legislators and other state officials. But the loopholes are big: Less than 5 percent of the lobby's reported spending on food and beverage names the eaters and the drinkers. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott's full-throated embrace of ethics reform, a rarity under the Capitol dome, is breathing new life into the issue of years of failed efforts. But changing the status quo remains very much a work in progress. Full Story
Advocates for ethics reform say Gov. Greg Abbott has a rare chance to help spearhead improved lawmaker disclosures and reduce conflicts of interest. Abbott is expected to address ethics reform Tuesday in his State of the State address. Full Story
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Sen. Kirk Watson has filed three bills that would close a gaping loophole in state ethics law — one that allows lobbyists to avoid naming names when they fill out their mandatory spending and entertainment reports. Full Story
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State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, a leading advocate of ethics reform in the notoriously unrestrained Texas Legislature, filed legislation Tuesday designed to shed more light on lawmakers who make money off of government contracts. Full Story
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Some of the Legislature's early actions indicate some ambivalence about the agencies and people who enforce state ethics laws. Full Story
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The session stipends for legislators are set to rise, and because of a loophole in Texas law, that would mean lobbyists could spend more on legislators without saying whom they are wining and dining. Full Story
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The 8-day reports — the final look at candidate campaign finance totals before Election Day — are in. We have compiled data for all statewide, State Board of Education, Texas Senate and Texas House candidates who filed electronically with the Texas Ethics Commission. Full Story
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We're liveblogging the sessions from the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival's Open Government track. The sessions include panels on disclosures by legislators, open records in Texas, transparency and the Texas budget, and the issue of donor privacy. Full Story
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The campaign manager for GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott filed an ethics complaint on Thursday alleging that the Wendy Davis book tour represents a conversion of political contributions into personal use. Full Story
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Pretty soon, Texas lawmakers will have to decide who is a reporter — and who isn't. Full Story
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On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics, I talked with host Shelly Slater and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy about Michael Quinn Sullivan, the arrest of John Wiley Price, the deployment of 1,ooo National Guard troops and more. Full Story
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The Texas Ethics Commission has ordered Michael Quinn Sullivan, leader of the conservative advocacy group Empower Texans, to pay a $10,000 fine for failing to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011. Full Story
When the typically vociferous Michael Quinn Sullivan kept quiet at a 12-hour hearing last week, it was the latest development in a saga pitting the leader of Empower Texans against the state’s ethics enforcers. And it’s almost a sure bet that many chapters remain. Full Story
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