While a Texas lawmaker seeks public information on taxpayer dollars spent on lobbying, local governments are responding with words crafted by a lobbyist, saying they have nothing pertinent to disclose.
State Rep. Mayes Middleton (R-Wallisville) who has asked cities, towns, counties and school districts what they spend on lobbying, much of it on bills that will cost the people paying for the lobbying money, said it’s a process that needs to be stopped.
“It’s fundamentally wrong that taxpayer money is being spent on Austin lobbyists that then lobby for higher taxes and against property tax reform — 91% of Texans oppose taxpayer funded lobbying,” Middleton told Lone Star Standard.
He sent out information requests to hundreds of local governments, he said, and some have complied, but others declined. Some have used language prepared by an Austin lawyer, Middleton said, with seven counties using his words verbatim.
“Jim Allison is an Austin lobbyist and the general counsel for taxpayer-funded lobbyist group called County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas,” he said. “CJCAT and Jim Allison have worked for many years to lobby for higher taxes and to oppose property tax reform.”
Middleton is seeking data that should be readily available to the public, including a state legislator. But the governments are denying access to the information, he said.
“Austin lobbyist Jim Allison was clearly coaching counties to not respond to my public information request to disclose taxpayer-funded lobbying expenditures,” Middleton said, adding that this parroted response flies in the face of needed government transparency.
“No, Jim Allison coached counties to say that counties do not direct Austin-based CJCAT what to lobby for or against, nor do they even know what CJCAT lobbies on,” Middleton said. “This is not true. Many counties are directing taxpayer-funded lobbyists like Jim Allison to lobby for higher taxes and against property tax reform.”
Taxpayer-funded lobbying is defined by Ballotpedia as the practice of using money that comes from citizens to lobby another political entity. This includes direct lobbying, or dues paid to an association, such as the Texas Municipal League or the Texas Association of Counties.
“The number of companies hired to pursue earmarks has doubled since 2000, many of them retained by universities or cities to pursue federal dollars,” according to Ballotpedia. “Some lobbyists now approach local officials, offering to get them an earmark provided the lobbyist gets a hefty fee. Americans for Prosperity estimates that governments spend nearly $1 trillion each year nationwide lobbying each other.”
Middleton noted the CJCAT, at the annual conference of the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas in October, adopted resolutions supporting higher taxes and opposing property tax reform.
The association expressed “its opposition to limits in the past legislative session to local decision-making and does hereby oppose any further unreasonable revenue caps upon Texas counties, and the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas expresses its deep appreciation to all legislators who oppose these unsound measures,” Middleton said
He added that the association also requested that the Legislature “amend the tax statutes to allow the adoption of a county local option sales tax, a local option severance tax, a local option motor fuel tax, an increase in local vehicle registration fees, and other revenue sources for the reduction of property taxes without imposing any additional revenue caps.”
Middleton was re-elected to a second term in November. He is continuing his effort to end taxpayer-funded lobbying, filing House Bill 749 on Dec. 7.
It states, “A political subdivision may not spend public funds to hire an individual required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305 for the purpose of lobbying a member of the legislature, or to pay a nonprofit state association or organization that either primarily represents political subdivisions or hires or contracts with an individual required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305.”
