Texas Taxpayers Shouldn’t Have to Pay for Lobbyists Who Work to Raise Their Taxes

Texas Public Policy Foundation ^ | 11/29/2017 | Chuck DeVore

[JeepersFreepers]

Local governments’ use of taxpayer dollars to lobby for higher taxes, greater spending, and more regulatory power is nothing more than taking taxpayer dollars to take more taxpayer dollars. Individual Texas taxpayers are largely outgunned by this lobbying firepower.

Unfortunately, many local jurisdictions, from counties, to cities, to school districts, and even municipal utility districts (MUDs), have outsourced a very basic part of their job as elected officials by hiring professional lobbyists to lobby state government. Even worse, the up-to-$41 million in taxpayer money spent on hired lobbyists to influence the state government in 2017 was often spent on behalf of measures that are contrary to the interests of their own constituents. For instance, funds were spent to lobby against annexation reform, which allows individual Texans the right to decide for themselves if they want to join a neighboring city. Funds were also spent against efforts to limit the high yearly increase of property taxes.

In 1997 a two-sentence bill was introduced in Texas, HB 2501, that would have prohibited any political subdivision of the state from using public funds to hire someone whose main job was to lobby any governmental entity. It failed.

The city that hosts the Texas state Capitol, Austin, spends about $1 million per year to lobby, employing 14 lobbyists, both contract lobbyists as well as city employees

[JeepersFreepers]

This article, published in 2017, is now especially relevant as legislation to end the practice had been filed in the legislative session now in progress. This legislation has the strong support of Texas Governor Abbott.

Since 2009, most conservative legislation has been blocked by the power of the super liberal RINO Speaker of the Texas House, Joe Straus. Straus was first elected by a coalition of the entire Democrat caucus along with 11 RINOs. This coalition has been able to continually reelect Straus as speaker since that time. In 2018, Straus decided not to run for reelection. Hopefully the new speaker will facilitate rather than continue to block legislation to stop taxpayer funding of lobbyists in Texas.

I am curious if taxpayer lobbying is a problem in other states.

[Paleo Conservative]

Amen!

[Still Thinking]

Doing this is a tacit admission that they had excess money (they had money to pay for stuff that is none of their business). Therefore, the state should decree that the tax rates for municipalities be PERMANENTLY reduced by the amount spent improperly, leaving the amount presumably spent on legitimate costs, and temporarily reduced further until the amount already thusly spent is repaid, including interest and a penalty.

[Still Thinking]

There will be a temporary shortfall due to repayment, since the tax rolls will temporarily be below legitimate operating costs. Backfill can be taken from the personal funds of any mayors, councilmen, etc., who voted to authorize the lobbying contracts, stealing taxpayer money to pay to lobby to screw those very taxpayers.

[antidemoncrat]

Austin: The blue cancer in Texas

[dfwgator]

Dallas is just as blue as Austin now.

[Oldexpat]

This is going on nation wide and is part of the deep state state.

[antidemoncrat]

Yeah, I hear that along with San Antone and Hoston.

[Theodore R.]

This is what makes property taxes sky high, but people in TX are too confused to know this.

[Theodore R.]

Once the places go “blue”, it is permanent decline.