Houston Republic

After an attempt to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying failed, state Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, and state Rep. Mayes Middleton, R-Wallisville, vowed to continue to fight to for the measure to pass in the next legislative session.

The bill (SB 29) failed in the House with a 58-85 vote after a number of amendments changed important aspects of the bill.

Tax-funded lobbying is the practice of spending taxpayer dollars to advocate for or against tax hikes or other incentives to increase revenue for local governments.

The two lawmakers sat down with Professional Advocacy Association of Texas (PAAT) president Tom Forbes for a panel discussion at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s (TPPF) annual conference Friday. Moderating the panel was TPPF’s vice president Chuck DeVore.

While Forbes reiterated that he opposes the ban because he believes it would create even more problems, Middleton stressed the importance of evening the playing field for taxpayers by banning taxpayer-funded lobbying.

“Banning taxpayer-funded lobbying would amplify the voices of taxpayers. Right now, they’re being drowned out by the lobbyists,” Middleton said, adding that he took interest in the matter after seeing many conservative bills dying.

Hall chimed in and cleared up some misunderstanding he had heard about the bill.

“Our bill would not have stopped local elected officials from petitioning or testifying in front of their government, only those lobbyists being paid by taxpayer dollars,” Hall said.

Middleton highlighted some bills he believes would benefit Texas taxpayers but were lobbied against by local officials and other organizations. These include the red-light camera ban, which made it illegal for automated cameras at traffic lights to snap a picture of vehicle license plates when drives entered intersections after the light turned red; and the Save Chick-fil-A bill, which bans the government from taking "adverse action" against an individual or businesses based on membership or support given to religious groups.

Last December, Middleton wrote a letter to every municipality in the state asking them to disclose the amount they spent on lobbying.

“We have a responsibility to protect the people of Texas and their money when it is being misused,” Hall said.

According to results from a poll by WPA Intelligence in December 2018, 91 percent of Texas taxpayers are opposed to the use of tax money to pay for lobbying.