Texas taxpayer-funded lobbying report
From Sunshine Review
Contents |
[edit] Texas Local Government Code
There are several sections of Texas law that are relevant in discussing ethical issues regarding taxpayer-funded lobbying. [1]
Texas Local Government Code section 89.002 states "The commissioners court may spend, in the name of the county, money from the county's general fund for membership fees and dues of a nonprofit state association of counties if... neither the association nor an employee of the association directly or indirectly influences or attempts to influence the outcome of any legislation pending before the legislature". This prohibits county governments from using county dues to pay association dues if the association nfluences or attempts to influence the outcome of any pending legislation.
Texas Local Government Code section 556.0055 prohibits the use of state funds to pay for lobbying expenses incurred by the recipient of state funds. This is relevant in cases involving school districts: because they receive a significant percentage of their budget directly from the state, as contrasted with local taxes and fees, the reporting of lobbying activities and expenditures must be stringent.
Texas Local Government Code section 305.026(d) specifically allows other local governments to use taxpayer funds to pay dues to certain statewide associations which engage in lobbying.
Texas Local Government Code section 305.005(f)(3) states that lobbyists must disclose on whose behalf they lobby as well as who reimburses them. Because of this language, lobbyists hired by a chamber of commerce will register both the chamber and the local government, even if the local government has no official knowledge that they are being represented. This confuses the reporting of lobbying activities.
[edit] Report methodology and general findings
The report surveyed the following entities in Texas:[1]
- 61 cities: The report states that several other sources show Texas cities as having in their payroll over 140 registered lobbyist. The contracts for these lobbyist are estimated as being as much as $9 million annually.
- 105 school districs:
- 16 counties out of 254 total counties: Some reports have Texas county-related entities (such as chambers of commerce) as employing 100 registereed lobbyists for as much as $5 million. Individual counties allegedly pay more than 25 registered lobbyists close to $1 million.
The survey included eight questions. These were to the effect of:[1]
- Does your county/city/ISD currently have a contract with registered outside lobbyists?
- Does your county/city/ISD pay dues to any organization which acts on your behalf concerning issues before the Texas Legislature? What are these?
- How many county/city/ISD employees as a part of their job description may be requested to: a)Prepare fact or opinion sheets for influencing legislation? b)Have direct contacts with the registered outside lobbyist or legislator? c)The practice of giving staff of any county department paid time off in order to lobby?
- Does you county/city/ISD currently detail in your budget the contract with a registered outside lobbying and statewide organizations?
- Do county/city/ISD employees or officials have expense accounts for expenses
- Was an estimate of travel and other expenses to and from Austin between January 2003 through August 2005 reported for government accounts?
- Was an estimate of travel and other expenses to and from Austin between January 2003 through August 2005 reported for employees and elected officials?
- How does your county/city/ISD track, report and disclose lobbying?
The findings of the survey are summarized below.
[edit] Survey results
The survey conducted by the joint committee included a sample of cities, school districts, and counties. The results to questions 1, 2, and 4 are summarized below. [1]
[edit] Cities
- 40 cities out of 61 surveyed have contracts with outside lobbyists.
- 55 cities belong to a taxpayer-funded lobbying association.
- 26 cities detail their lobbying in the budget.
[edit] School districts
- Two school districts out of 105 surveyed answered "yes" to the question "Does your county/city/ISD currently have a contract with registered outside lobbyists?". These are Crane ISD and Texas City ISD.
- 90 school districts belong to taxpayer-funded lobbying associations, as indicated by their "yes" answer to question 2 (Does your county/city/ISD pay dues to any organization which acts on your behalf concerning issues before the Texas Legislature? What are these?).
- Only 11 school districts detail lobbying expenditures in their budgets.
[edit] Counties
- Five counties out of 16 surveyed admitted having contracts with outside lobbyists. These are Bexar County, El Paso, Harris, Nueces, and Travis.
- All 16 counties belong to taxpayer-funded lobbying associations.
- Six counties have budgets which reflect their lobbying activities.
[edit] Report conclusions
The joint committee agrees with concerend citizens that there is a conflict of interest between citizens and the lobbying their tax money pays for. For example, the study notes that taxpayer-funded lobbying leads to bigger government, while "public opinion surveys show that Texans are boradly and increasingly in favor of more efficient and accountable government". [1]
However, the committee concludes that it would not be prudent to place a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying because:[1]
- It believes that the principle of local control would be violated by such a ban
- Citizens shoudl expect their officials to participate in the policy process by advocating for policies they feel would benefit their constituency
- The speed of the legislative process makes it so that an "on-the-ground presence" in Austin is "vital" for providing input to legislators in a relevant time frame.
Instead, the report sees the problem as stemming from a flawed disclosure system and gives recommendations for improving the reporting of such activities. These recommendations generally entail stricter reporting guidelines and enforcement of them, and reporting should be full and open.[1]
[edit] Flawed disclosure system
The joint committee's report notes three areas where reporting is flawed. These are inadequacies in the registration process, confusion regarding the expenses and reporting of expenses incurred by officials, and funds spent on association dues.
The following flaws in the disclosure system are worrisome:[1]
- Local officials, exempt from registering as lobbyists, can technically claim their activities are not lobbying and therefore do not need to be reported.
- Relaxed reporting: Lobbyists for a Chamber of Commerce or Economic Development Corporation will often be listed as working for the respective local government without the locality's permission. However, the Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development Corporations are not a part of that government. Conflicts then arise between a city that lists no registered lobbyists on its payroll, and with the Ethics Commission's records which show the lobbyist for the other organization as belonging to that city.
- There are no rigid standards on naming conventions, meaning "The city of Austin", "Austin city", and "Austin" may all be reported as separate entities.
The joint commission recommends that the standards for reporting names are tightened and that the lobby list be completely searchable.
Importantly, the joint commission recommends the addition of a field that would designate a publicly-funded lobbying group as such. [1]
