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Senate Bill 219 |
Senate Author: Huffman et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
House Sponsor: Bonnen, Dennis et al. |
Senate Bill 219 amends the Government Code, Local Government Code, and Election Code in provisions relating to the ethics of public servants, including the functions and duties of the Texas Ethics Commission; the regulation of political contributions, political advertising, lobbying, and conduct of public servants; and the reporting of political contributions and expenditures and personal financial information.
Reason Given for Veto: "Senate Bill 219 contains several important changes to the state's ethics laws, especially those relating to the sworn complaint process. However, these positive changes are outweighed by several provisions added late in the legislative process without an open and honest discussion.
"The last-minute addition of a resign-to-run requirement for members of the Railroad Commission would change the structure of a constitutional agency without the consent of Texas voters. Any effort to amend a constitutional office should go to a vote of the people.
"This bill would also strip a journalist's testimonial privilege if the journalist has made direct political expenditures, or is affiliated with entities that make such expenditures.
"Senate Bill 219 also allows the Ethics Commission to set an annual document filing fee for candidates and groups who file campaign finance reports. Candidates should not be charged for participating in a process intended to be transparent, to pay for a state agency. The legislature should continue to set the fee to run for office in a transparent and open way, rather than leave that to a state agency.
"The Legislature had an opportunity, through the Sunset review process, to make needed changes to our campaign finance, lobby and financial disclosure laws - changes that are needed to modernize laws while still protecting our rights and providing for transparency. I urge the Legislature to look closely at our ethics laws during the interim in an open, deliberative and transparent way, so that all voices are heard and all proposals are thoroughly discussed."