Taxpayer Funded Lobbying

Is Georgetown still funding lobbyists in Austin during this period of austerity? It appears so! Here are the numbers for calandar years 2019 and 2020. The City is spending between $80,000 and $200,000.

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Lobbying Dwarfs Everything.

TWICE as much money has been spent on lobbying as all the contributions to Texas candidates and PACs combined. The money spent on lobbying typically exceeds all contributions to Texas candidates and PACs, but we’ve never before seen this. More than $640 million is committed to lobbyists to influence Austin lawmakers this election cycle. That’s double the $320 million given to all candidates, officeholders, and PACs put together.

Lobbying is rarely discussed, but the numbers don’t lie. Lobbying is by far the biggest source of money in Texas politics. And of the $640 million dedicated to lobbying, more than $110 million comes from taxpayers.

These amounts do not include the dues paid to the Texas Municipal League, which is primarily a lobbing effort for cities.