The latest Texas Ethics Commission news from The Texas Tribune.
The number of fines for breaking state campaign ethics laws has exploded in recent years as Ken Paxton’s office rarely pursues stricter enforcement. Full Story
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The action comes after The Texas Tribune reported that influencers were being paid to defend impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton. Full Story
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The Texas Tribune and ProPublica analyzed 35 Texas school districts that held trustee elections last fall and found none that posted all of the required campaign finance records. Full Story
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The Tribune reported last year that a company called Influenceable LLC was paid to recruit influencers to defend Attorney General Ken Paxton over his impeachment. Full Story
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The Texas attorney general said he’s “back to work” after his recent acquittal, but his office has repeatedly declined to fulfill one of its key duties: representing state agencies who are being sued. Full Story
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A 2019 law says a former lawmaker cannot register to lobby until two years after they last used campaign funds to donate to another politician. Paddie, R-Marshall, sought to get around that earlier this year by reimbursing his campaign account with personal money. Full Story
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Starr County, one of the four counties that make up the Rio Grande Valley, has not been able to produce campaign finance reports that it is required to maintain, according to a GOP group targeting the area. Full Story
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After the Texas Ethics Commission received a sworn complaint about the omissions, Bush told The Texas Tribune last week that he took immediate steps to correct his disclosure forms. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott is a fundraising juggernaut, and Republicans still dominate campaign finance in the state. Full Story
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Judge William McLeod declared his run for the Texas Supreme Court. But as he later discovered, doing so invoked a provision in the state's constitution that may force him to leave his post. Full Story
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The fine comes nearly four years after Miller, a champion calf roper, used taxpayer money for a trip to the National Dixie Rodeo in Jackson, Mississippi. Full Story
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State Reps. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, and Sarah Davis, R-West University Place, want the Texas Ethics Commission to keep track of which lobbyists have disclosed ties to foreign governments. Full Story
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Giving Texas governors the power to edit proposed regulations under a veil of secrecy — as Gov. Greg Abbott is vying to do — could provide new opportunities for campaign finance shenanigans. Full Story
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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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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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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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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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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
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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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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
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