Judge: Activist must pay thousands in ethics fines

A district judge in Travis County has dismissed a case brought by conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan and ordered him to pay thousands of dollars in ethics fines that date back over a decade.

In a recent two-page summary judgment, Judge Catherine A. Mauzy sided with the Texas Ethics Commission and ordered Sullivan to pay $10,000 in civil penalties for his failure to register as a lobbyist in 2010 and 2011 while he was spending time chatting up state lawmakers about legislation, a House speaker race and other conservative causes. The commission was awarded court costs in the case.

“This case has taken several twists and turns over the past few years as Mr. Sullivan sought to challenge the authority of the Ethics Commission, but underneath it all, it is a very simple, straightforward case,” said the agency’s general counsel, J.R. Johnson. “Mr. Sullivan engaged in conduct that required him to register as a lobbyist under Texas law. We are happy to finally have a decision on the merits, and we believe the court reached the right answer.”

Sullivan is the CEO of Empower Texans, a well-funded conservative advocacy group made up of a web of political action committees as well as nonprofits that aren’t required to report donors. His lawyer Tony McDonald has filed a notice of appeal to the Austinbased 3rd Court of Appeals.

“The speech regulators at the TEC want to build a hedge around the capitol, to stop everyday Texans from talking to their legislators,” McDonald said. “We are appealing because Texas shouldn’t tax and punish citizens for petitioning their government.”

Texas Ethics Commission chair Chad Craycraft disagreed with that characterization.

“Texas law does not prohibit anyone, including Mr. Sullivan, from petitioning their government,” Craycraft said. “However, lobbyists who are paid to advocate on behalf of another at the Legislature are required to disclose the source of those payments. These kinds of basic disclosure requirements have been upheld many times by the United States Supreme Court and ensure that the electorate can make informed decisions.”

The case, which has bounced from court to court for years, was revived in 2018 by the 3rd Court of Appeals after already having been dismissed two years prior by a district judge in Travis County. Sullivan had attempted to have the case dismissed by the Texas Supreme Court, but it ruled in favor of the commission in June 2019.

The allegations stem from 2012 complaints from two Republican House members who allege that Sullivan’s work influencing lawmakers on behalf of Empower Texans should have required him to register as a lobbyist. Sullivan said the work he was doing was journalism, as the organization also runs a political news and opinion blog, but the commission did not accept that explanation and charged him the maximum fine of $10,000.

In a parallel court case, Sullivan is trying to gut the state agency, alleging that the Texas Ethics Commission does not have the legal authority to carry out actions such as levying fines for campaign finance law violations, saying only an executive branch agency, not a legislative branch agency, can enforce laws. That suit is before the 8th Court of Appeals in El Paso.