Ethics loophole benefits officials
Raising money while making laws is legal during special session
AUSTIN — Thirty years ago, following a bribery scandal involving a former speaker of the House, lawmakers banned members of the Texas Legislature and statewide officeholders from accepting campaign contributions during the regular biennial session.
A couple of years later, during a special session, a poultry magnate seeking favorable support for a bill ignited another scandal when he handed out $10,000 checks to legislators on the floor of the Senate. In response, lawmakers made it illegal to accept campaign contributions in the Capitol.
But no law against accepting contributions during special sessions exists, a loophole the size of the Lone Star State itself, especially in what promises to be a contentious and controversial 30-day gathering as various interest groups seek to influence office-
holders.
“It doesn’t really make sense, does it?” said Andrew Wheat, research director for the nonprofit watchdog group Texans for Public Justice. “You would think that if it is wrong during the regular, then it’s wrong during the special.”
Gov. Greg Abbott, who already is sitting on a $41 million campaign fund and who called for the special session to push through his conservative vision for the state, is aggressively seeking contributions. His campaign solicited donors with a midnight deadline on the opening day of the special session.
“A very generous group of supporters is so excited about the kickoff of Governor Abbott’s re-election they have offered to DOUBLE MATCH every online contribution through July 18!” Abbott campaign aide Jordan Root wrote in an email. “Your contribution can make the difference! Contribute $25, $50 or $100 and see it DOUBLE MATCHED to become $75, $150 or $300!”
The Abbott campaign also used the special session as a reason why contributors should pour more money into the governor’s coffers.
“During the next 30 days, lawmakers are going to tackle important issues to Texans from out-of-control local regulations to skyrocketing property taxes to runaway state and local spending,” campaign aide Mary Ruegg wrote in an email blast a day after the special session convened. “Contribute right away if you support Governor Abbott’s special session agenda.” The sentence contained a link to a web site where contributions can be made.
Abbott spokesman John Wittman said: “Regardless of special session or not, the governor makes decisions on what is in the best interests of the state, not those who support his campaign. The most important standard is to avoid any conflict of interest and follow the letter and spirit of the law. That is being done.”
The ban on regular session contributions — which begins 30 days before the session and ends after the governor’s deadline to veto bills — is a rare brake on campaign giving in a state that doesn’t have caps on contributions to statewide officials and legislators.
The Legislature’s leaders — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus — pointedly have announced they would not be accepting contributions during the special session. Others have taken the opportunity to replenish their campaign accounts after the regular session black-out on accepting contributions.
State Sen. Jose Menendez, DSan Antonio, held a fundraiser last Tuesday, the first day of the special session, at the Austin Club, a private venue three blocks from the Capitol. Sponsors included three powerful lobbyist firms — the Graydon Group, Focused Advocacy, and Blackridge.
State Sen. Borris Miles, DHouston, raised money Thursday afternoon, also at the Austin Club. A small group gathered in the club’s ornate Medallion Room, including state Sen. Royce West, a Dallas Democrat first elected to the Senate in 1992. Donors to Miles could be a “champion” for $10,000, a “host” for $5,000, a “sponsor” for $2,500 and a “friend” for $1,000. A web portal for contributions features a thermometer with a $100,000 goal.
“I called my office and told them to check the ethics on that, to see if we can do that, and they said it’s legal,” said Miles, a former House member who succeeded Democrat Rodney Ellis when he ran successfully last year to become a Harris County commissioner. “I’m a freshman senator, and you always want people to think I’m worthy based on the work that I did during the regular session.”
The conflicting rules open the door for a potential scandal, public interest groups say.
A lobbyist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a legislator recently invited him to a fundraiser and then mentioned a topic — now a special session bill backed by Abbott — that the lobbyist has worked on to get passed. The legislator said it should be passed during the special session. The lobbyist, who did not attend the fundraiser, said he was alarmed by the legislator talking about a fundraiser and an upcoming legislative vote in the same phone call.
Unless there are leaks, the public largely will be in the dark about the role of money during the special session. Legislators and statewide executive officeholders are not required to disclose their contributions until the special session ends, which is set for Aug. 16. The filing deadline is within 30 days of the session’s adjournment. It’s unclear whether Abbott would call a second special session or a string of them if legislators do not enact enough of his 20-topic agenda.
The Senate and House should adopt a rule that would extend the regular session ban on accepting campaign contributions to this special session, said Tom “Smitty” Smith, former director of the Texas office of Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer and environmental group.
“Otherwise, we will have another chapter in the sordid saga of government for and by the donors,” he said.
It’s unclear how much fundraising will occur and whether it will consist of fundraisers or contributions that legislators receive way below the radar.
Lobbyists and campaign aides said fundraising usually is slow in late July and August because legislators and statewide executive officials face a midyear deadline to file campaign finance reports with the state Ethics Commission. The deadline this year was July 17.
The ban on accepting contributions extended beyond the May 29 end of the regular session. That’s because legislators in 2003 passed a bill that became law to lift the ban after the deadline for the governor to veto bills passes, which was June 18.
Lt. Gov. Patrick, a Houston area Republican, decided to not accept campaign contributions during the special session in part to avoid “distractions,” said Allen Blakemore, Patrick’s campaign consultant. Patrick had a campaign fund balance of nearly $17 million as of June 30, Blakemore added.
“He’s not asking anybody to ‘please join me and do the same thing,’ ” said Blakemore, who also is a lobbyist. “It’s something we can do, and this session does cover a lot of issues. It’s just to avoid any appearances, avoid giving anybody a chance to write an ugly story or say something bad.”
As a state senator, Patrick collected $22,579 in contributions during the three special sessions that Gov. Rick Perry called in 2013. Patrick’s campaign did not receive any contributions during special sessions in 2009 and 2011.
Straus announced his decision in a Facebook post last Tuesday that said: “State law prohibits legislators from accepting campaign contributions during regular sessions of the Legislature. I have also decided that I will not accept campaign contributions during the special session that began today.”
Asked about the reason for the Speaker’s decision, Straus spokesman Jason Embry said, “Speaker Straus wanted to stay consistent with the regular session and show that he is entirely focused on issues like improving education, helping retired teachers and reducing the property-tax burden.”
Straus, a San Antonio Republican, did not receive campaign contributions during special sessions in 2009 and 2011, but his campaign hauled in $326,703 during three Perry-called special sessions in 2013.
Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history, called 12 special sessions — which ranged from two days to the maximum of 30 — and his campaign netted $5.1 million.
The Legislature in 1987 enacted the ban on campaign contributions during the regular session. Action came after House Speaker Billy Clayton was indicted for allegedly accepting a bribe of $5,000 in cash during an FBI sting operation. A jury acquitted Clayton of corruption charges in 1980.
During a 1989 special session, poultry magnate Lonnie “Bo” Pilgrim made national news when he handed out $10,000 checks on the Senate floor to nine of the 31 members. Pilgrim said the checks — distributed two days before a vote on a workers’ compensation bill that he had an interest in — were campaign contributions, not attempted bribes.
In response to the public outrage, legislators approved a bill to ban the acceptance of campaign contributions in the Capitol.
Austin attorney Randall “Buck” Wood, a former executive director of the Texas office of Common Cause who in the 1970s helped pass major open meetings and records laws, said some legislators asked him after the Pilgrim furor to craft legislation to prohibit campaign contributions during special sessions.
But Wood said he couldn’t find a way without unwittingly picking winners and losers. For example, if the governor calls a special session close to a primary or general election, a ban would affect incumbents in hotly-contested seats. Their opponents would not be prohibited from collecting contributions.
In 2009, the House approved a bill to extend the prohibition on accepting campaign contributions during regular sessions to special sessions.
The bill died in a Senate committee after lawmakers questioned whether it could hurt House members vying to fill a vacancy in a Senate seat.
Last Friday, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Frisco, filed a bill to extend the contribution ban to cover special sessions, from when the governor calls one until adjournment. The penalty for making or accepting such a contribution would be the same as the current one for regular sessions — a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail, a maximum $4,000 fine or both.
Fallon’s bill would apply to contributions made or accepted starting Dec. 1, and it’s also not eligible for a vote unless Abbott adds the topic to his special session agenda.