Bill barring lobbyists from office debated

Some lobbyists are pushing back against proposed bills that would prohibit them from running for public office in Texas as legislators weigh an overhaul to state ethics laws.

AUSTIN — There are two groups of people who can’t run for public office in Texas — felons and the mentally incapacitated. Some legislators want to add a third category — lobbyists.

As lawmakers weigh bills to overhaul ethics laws, some lobbyists are pushing back against provisions they say unfairly target their profession and could lead to less government transparency, not more.

“I believe that registering as a lobbyist is not the same thing as putting a scarlet L on your forehead,” said Jack Gullahorn, a lobbyist who founded the Austinbased trade group for lobbyists.

The Senate passed a comprehensive ethics bill in early February, one week after Gov. Greg Abbott made it one of his priority items. Anticipating attempts to kill the legislation, lawmakers also filed separate “single-shot bills” with the same provisions, which are getting hearings in the House.

One bill would prohibit anyone who is required to register as a state government lobbyist from running for, being appointed to or holding public office. State law and advisory opinions from the state Ethics Commission bar legislators from lobbying state government, but they can

work as lobbyists focusing on the federal and local governments. Someone who lobbies the state government can’t serve on the state Board of Education if he or she works on behalf of a profession, business or group “related to the operation of the board.”

The bill’s lead sponsor, state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, said it’s important to distinguish between lobbying and other occupations when it comes to those who hold public office. He said local elected officials whose profession is lobbying the state government present the “perception of conflict of interest” or actual conflicts, such as when the person being lobbied doesn’t know whether the lobbyist is speaking in his government capacity or as a lobbyist.

“I think it passes a common-sense test, which is if you go to your constituents and say, `Should someone who lobbies also be someone who runs your city?’ I think most people would say, ‘No,’ ” Capriglione said.

The Ethics Commission does not keep a list of state lobbyists who also are local elected officials. But they include Jesse Ancira, a lobbyist who is the mayor of Taylor in Williamson County and a former highranking aide to House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio. The bill would not affect Ancira because the population of Taylor is less than 50,000, he’s not paid as mayor, and he’s not running for re-election this year. Capriglione said the bill was not written to exempt Ancira or anyone else.

Fewer candidates

Bill Miller, a veteran lobbyist and public relations specialist, said that if the bill becomes law, local governments will lose potential candidates who have knowledge of government and politics.

“People who are engaged and care and (are) interested are exactly the kind of people who should run for public office,” he said. “All the things that would contribute to a good public official generally are honed in the lobby.”

Capriglione said his bill was not written with anyone in mind. But political observers said previous versions filed by state Sen. Van Taylor, R-Plano, and Capriglione would have affected lobbyist Thomas Ratliff when he was a member of the state Board of Education. Conservative groups regularly attacked Ratliff, who in 2010 unseated a board member who had led a bloc to limit coverage of evolution in science textbooks. Ratliff did not run for re-election in 2016.

Ratliff and other lobbyists said an unintended consequence of the bill may be fewer people registering with the state Ethics Commission. If so, that would leave the public even more in the dark about attempts to influence state government decisions. Registered lobbyists must disclose information such as who hired them. This enables the public to track the various interests trying to pass or kill a bill or get a state contract.

“We already have enough people who will twist and turn themselves sideways or upside down or inside out to not register as a lobbyist,” Ratliff said. “By creating a negative for a civic-minded person who wants to serve on the local school board, it might encourage them to say, `Well, I am just going to dial back my activities as a lobbyist so I’m under the threshold to register.’ Then we have less transparency and not more.”

Davis undecided

Two thresholds require people to register to lobby the legislature and executive branch. One is if a person spends more than $500 over three months on lobbying. The second is if a person is paid — or expects to get paid — more than $1,000 over three months; spends more than 40 hours over three months lobbying or preparing to do so, and communicates directly with a legislator, staff member, or state official.

So a lobbyist of the state government who falls a dollar or an hour short of the registration requirement could run for a local public office — and continue lobbying. Lobbyists who focus solely on the legislature could run after the session if they are no longer required to register with the state. But those who lobby the executive branch could not run if they were required to maintain their registration.

The number of lobbyists registered at the state level has increased slightly since 2009, from 1,861 to 1,927 in 2015. So far this year, 1,799 lobbyists have registered.

Larson’s bill has not been referred to a committee. Capriglione’s bill is in the House General Investigating & Ethics Committee and has received a hearing. Chairwoman Sarah Davis, R-West University Place, said she hasn’t decided yet whether to move the bill to the House floor..

“I get the whole ‘drain the swamp, we don’t want lobbyists to be running the government,’” she said. “But what if you lobby the legislature and you want to run for city council? That bill would prohibit that.”