Mid City Times

After learning that up to $41 million per year is spent by local governments on Austin lobbyists, Rep. Mayes Middleton (R-Wallisville) has called on Texas cities, counties and school districts statewide to disclose their tax revenue spending on lobbying.

“Taxpayer-funded lobbyists have opposed property tax relief, election integrity, disclosures of what bonds truly cost taxpayers, the constitutional ban on a state income tax, and they even opposed the bill to fund and protect our teachers' retirement pensions,” Middleton told East Houston News.

That’s because local governments are permitted to pay lobbyists with revenues collected from homeowners for political causes or reforms, which may or may not benefit the taxpayer, Middleton argues. 

The city of Coppell is among the municipalities that Middleton surveyed, and Hannah Cook, Coppell’s chief communications strategist, said $84,000 is allocated to pay different association membership dues and fees for 2020-2021, which ends in September.

“Approximately half of it goes to the Coppell Chamber of Commerce and the other funding goes to organizations like the North Texas Commission and the Texas Municipal League, and it is my understanding that the Texas Municipal League does not use any of its fees toward advocacy,” Cook told Mid City Times.

According to the Texas Municipal League (TML) website, nearly 25% of TML’s legislature lobbying focuses on limiting municipal authority and their legislative program is cultivated by city officials whose cities are members.

Cook added that the Coppell City Council determines lobbying objectives.

“The Coppell City Council each year approves a legislative priority agenda,” Cook said in an interview. “Any advocacy on that legislative agenda is an issue the council has determined is something we need to be advocating for on behalf of the community.”

According to documents obtained by Mid City Times, $42,000 was paid to Solutions for Local Control to cover lobbying efforts.

“The city of Coppell opposes any measures that would limit the city council’s ability to make local decisions, which include building regulations and the state government putting restrictions on what the city can and cannot regulate specific to the desires of the community and not necessarily advocating that the state have no control,” Cook said.

Another $48,000 was paid to Dan Shelley and $60,000 to HMWK for lobbying.

"Dan Shelley assists the City with general advocacy efforts," Cook added. "He is given the council’s approved legislative priorities to organize his efforts around. He does not focus on a specific subject matter. HMWK, on the other hand, works specifically on sales tax legislation."

Middleton, along with Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), filed bills last year that, if enacted, will ban cities, counties, and school districts from hiring lobbyists with taxpayer revenue to advocate against laws that could potentially benefit homeowners statewide. The bills are identical, but Middleton filed HB 749 in the Texas House while Hall filed SB 234 in the state Senate.

“There is a history of local governments contracting with outside lobbyists who have in turn advocated against bills that would be beneficial to residents of local governments, such as bills lowering property taxes, restricting the power of annexation, and providing additional information on ballot initiatives,” Hall told the Tyler Reporter.

A full list of all registered lobbyists is available on the Texas Ethics Commission website.