Legislator Against Taxpayer Funded Lobbying

Here is a Texas Legislator who has experienced lobbying funded by taxpayers and he thinks it is time to ban the practice.Briscoe Cain Op Ed

A taxpayer-funded lobbying ban does not stop our city council members, mayors, county commissioners, and county judges from themselves advocating in front of the Texas Legislature. If a local official wants to oppose property tax reform, let them publicly go on record and not hide behind a contract with a lobbyist.

Currently, a Texan is forced to check the Texas Ethics Commission website for lobbying registrations, find what lobbyist their city or county has hired, and then search each piece of legislation for what position that lobbyist has taken in a committee hearing. It’s a game of “connect the dots” that still provides cover for the local official when they run for re-election and promise that they have the best interests of the taxpayer in mind. 

Representative Mayes Middleton added an amendment to Senate Bill 65 to shine light on the lobbying records of school districts, cities, and counties.

Senate Bill 65 requires that these contracts be posted on the government entity’s website. Unfortunately, not many of our cities, counties, or school districts are in compliance. I also want to note that none of these records would include the lobbying work that goes on away from committee hearings and the public record.

The time is now for the Texas Legislature to empower the taxpayer in front of their state and local government. During the 87th Texas Legislature, I know many of my colleagues and I will be focused on passing a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying. I only hope that our fellow legislators are ready to start listening to their constituents and pass this important piece of legislation.

Georgetown has Dodged a Bullet

Thanks to the Trump administration, an obscure rule called Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing(AFFH) has been recinded/replaced. HUD sought to remake America’s cities, towns and villages, forcing any community that was getting federal funds to meet racial quotas,  Team Trump just called a halt to the Obama-era war on American suburbs

Since Georgetown is large enough in population to apply directly for HUD funds, they would have been subject to these AFFH rules that would  have resulted in HUD bureaucrats dictating zoning, density and other rules governing local housing.

Now Georgetown can proceed to approve housing units that are compatible with local values.

Why Do Cities Hire Lobbyists?

Why Do Cities Hire Lobbyists? To Protect their POWER!

In past legislative sessions, lobbyists successfully defeated bills that would prohibit public funds being used for lobbying.

Lobbyist and the City of Georgetown were against the annexation bill passed last session that gave those property owners in areas to be annexed the right to vote for/against annexation.

Lobbyist and the City of Georgetown are against full transparency in the finances and contracts of municipal owned utilities! Isn't it time the Georgetown energy contracts are shared with the utility customers?

The list goes on and on, but, it is clear the City does not want any new limits placed on their power. The city staff and council members like to cry about "local control", when the real issue is about personal liberty and control over what our tax dollars and utility fees are spent on.

Georgetown Council Out of Touch with Citizens

According to two different surveys, Texans DO NOT want taxpayer funds to be spent on lobbying the Texas legislature. 

“At the 2018 State Convention, Republicans supported ending taxpayer-funded lobbying by an overwhelming 94 percent,” said RPT Chairman James Dickey. “They voted for this because they know it is vital that we prohibit taxing entities from using tax dollars to lobby against the interests of the taxpayers. This deplorable activity must come to an end.”

A poll taken last December by WPA Intelligence and reported by The Texas Public Policy Foundation, showed that 91 percent of Texans opposed using tax dollars to pay for lobbying, including 80 percent who strongly opposed it.

Isn't the Council supposed to be representing the best interests of their constituents? 

This is Item N on the City Council Agenda for Tuesday evening at Council Chambers.

"ITEM SUMMARY:

In order for the City of Georgetown to have greater impact/influence in State and Regulatory affairs impacting the community; the need to engage highly competent governmental affairs services is important. The services provided assist the City in coordinating and communicating at the Legislative and Regulatory levels of State Government, regarding issues that will affect the City and impact Local Control. The next legislative session is poised to focus on many issues critical to local governments and municipal utility operations.

This service will seek to expand and increase the City's influence with State government and Local State level elected officials, by dedicating time and resources to ensure the City’s interests are protected. With assistance from Focused Advocacy, the City will be better able to shape and enhance our working relationships and work with State officials toward common goals.

The City Council is asked to consider approval of a Professional Services Contract with Focused Advocacy, LLC, of Austin, Texas for continued support associated with utility and governmental affairs.


FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funding for these services will be paid equally from Electric, Water, and General Funds."

Ins't it great that the Electric, Water and General Funds have excess money for this travesty against our liberty and freedom? 

Here are the first two pages of the proposed contracts.

click images to enlarge

The City is proposing to spend $100,000 per year on this contract plus $350 per month ($4200 annually) on meals, etc. plus travel costs.

It has been repeatedly documented that publically funded lobbyists work for the government entity that hires them, not for the citizens that pay their fees.

Perhaps the City could use those funds to directly benefit citizens instead of paying Austin lobbyists.

Who is behind this anti-taxpayer effort? Is it the city manager? The Mayor? or The Council? Inquiring minds would like to know so that this kind of anti-taxpayer activity can be stopped.

Georgetown Hiring Lobbist Firm

According to a survey of registered voters in Texas from WPA Intelligence, 91% oppose using tax dollars to fund lobbyists, with 80% saying they strongly oppose it.(Texas Public Policy Foundation)
Yet here we are with Georgetown planning to hire a lobbying firm to lobby the Texas Legislature against the best interests of the citizen/taxpayer. 

Ending taxpayer-funded lobbying was a Legislative Priority for the Republican Party in the 86th Texas Legislature. Sadly, that effort failed. It should be a priority for the next legislative session starting in January 2021.

Contact your State Senator, Charles Schwertner, and your Texas House Representative, Terry Wilson to let them know it is time to pass legislation to prohibit using taxpayer money to fund lobbyists.

As taxpayers finally begin to learn the details of the taxpayer-funded lobbying contracts, which their elected representatives have entered to lobby against the interests of their constituents, the likelihood of greater reform and political threats to the careers of local government representatives who vote for such contacts will increase geometrically.

The proposed contract with Focused Advocacy is item N on the Tuesday council agenda.

Call your council person and tell them to vote against this anti-taxpayer measure. Their contact information can be found here. Just click on their photo.

Better yet, show up at the council meeting and voice your displeasure with this proposed contract. 

The Georgetown City Council will meet on February 11, 2020 at 6:00 PM at City Council Chambers, 510 W 9th Street Georgetown, TX 78626.

Know Your Rights for Open Government

Excellent overview of citizens rights to an open and transparent government by Kelley Shannon.

"Whatever our political views, certainly we can agree we have the right to know how government is conducting business. How are taxpayer dollars spent? Who is influencing decisions? Access to information allows us to speak up and hold public officials accountable, while a lack of transparency diminishes trust in government.  

The Texas Public Information Act and Texas Open Meetings Act are the state’s main open government laws. Based on recent frequently asked questions about these laws, here are a few important reminders: Requested information must be provided promptly. That means as soon as possible and without delay. It’s a misconception that a governmental body, once it receives a written request for information, can wait up to 10 days to make the records available. Ten business days is the deadline under the Public Information Act for the governmental entity to ask for a Texas attorney general ruling if it is attempting to withhold information.  

Records requests can be made in multiple ways. Some government offices these days insist that requestors use a specific online form when making a public records request. Wrong! Using an online form is optional. Written requests may also be made via email, regular or certified mail or hand delivery. If you wish to email your request and can’t find the appropriate address on a government’s website, call and ask for it. Note: If a government office designates a single email address for records requests, then emailed requests must be sent there.  

Searchable-sortable information should be made available. Electronic information shall be provided in the format a requestor prefers if it is stored that way and can be provided in that format at no greater expense or time, the attorney general’s office has stated. So, if government data is stored in a searchable and sortable electronic spreadsheet and it’s requested in that format, it should be provided as a spreadsheet rather than as a PDF, which can be less useful when looking at numbers and large amounts of information.  

Closed-door meetings are for deliberations only, and only for certain subjects. The Texas Open Meetings Act allows a governing body to meet in a closed or “executive” session in some cases, such as to consult an attorney for legitimate legal questions or to discuss the purchase of property. Public officials can only deliberate behind closed doors. Any vote or final action must happen in public.  

A “walking quorum” is a no-no. A quorum of a governmental body discussing official business is supposed to occur in a posted public meeting. Members of a governing board cannot knowingly have one-on-one conversations about public business — whether talking, emailing or texting — when it is part of a series of private communications that will ultimately constitute a quorum. This deliberate behavior, known as a “walking quorum,” is banned, and the Legislature clarified that again in 2019. Texas law does allow discussion of business outside of a public meeting through a publicly viewable online message board.  

The public can comment at meetings. Under a law that took effect in September 2019, governing bodies must allow members of the public wishing to speak on an issue on the agenda of an open meeting to do so before or when it’s considered. Reasonable rules can be adopted limiting the total amount of time a member of the public may address the body on an item. Officials cannot prohibit the person from criticizing the governing body or its acts, policies or services.  

These and other topics will be addressed in a series of open government seminars the non-profit Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas is participating in this year with the Texas Attorney General’s Office. The first seminar will be February 25 in Corpus Christi, hosted by state Representative Todd Hunter. Let’s take every opportunity in 2020 to improve knowledge of Texas’ transparency laws. That, in turn, can lead to more effective government." 

Kelley Shannon is executive director of the nonprofit Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. For more information about the foundation and regional open government seminars go to www.foift.org.

Time to End Taxpayer Funder Lobbying

More than $77 million of taxpayer money was potentially spent on lobbyists to influence Texas politicians in the 2017 Legislative Session. Transparency Texas

It will be more when the 2019 $ numbers become available!

*These numbers, which are based on reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, reflect lobbying activity from the 2017 Legislative Session. The numbers are approximate because lobbyists are only required to report their earnings in numerical ranges.

Lobbyists hired with the taxpayers’ money work against common sense legislative agendas like reforming the property tax system and reforming annexation laws.

In addition to direct contract lobbying, another form of tax-funded lobbying is done through public agency associations like the Texas Municipal League, Texas Association of Counties, and many sub-affiliates. Unaccountable to voters, these groups shield the elected officials in their membership from the consequences of bad policy. 

It is time to end this anti-liberty practice!