Republican state Sen. Mayes Middleton and others are backing a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying — again

Gov. Greg Abbott called for a special session earlier this month, explicitly placing “legislation prohibiting taxpayer-funded lobbying” on the agenda. Middleton tried unsuccessfully to pass the ban — SB 19 — during the regular session.

“Taxpayer-funded lobbying is the USAID of Texas,” Middleton said in a statement to The Dallas Express. “Let’s pass the ban and drain the swamp.”

Mathew Minor, his spokesman, told The Dallas Express the bill — now SB 12 — is more likely to pass this time around. 

“Even House Speaker Dustin Burrows has expressed support for this,” Minor said. He also said Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have shown support for the bill, which passed out of committee.

SB 12 is a “sharper, cleaner version” of the ban, allowing residents to sue for violations and giving the law “real enforcement teeth,” according to Texas Policy Research. Minor said the bill is “in the same spirit” as the earlier legislation – a “ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying.” 

“This is something that the senator has run on since his time in the legislature, and this is something that Texans want,” he said.  

State Rep. Nate Schatzline supported the bill, warning that if it fails to pass the legislature, conservative priorities will be “at risk of being undermined by your tax dollars in the future.”

Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt also encouraged legislators to pass the bill. 

“Texans are being taxed twice, once to fund local services, and again to fund political lobbying they may not support,” he posted on X. “Texans deserve transparency not taxpayer-funded influence games.”

Middleton first introduced the ban during the regular session, aiming to keep public bodies from hiring lobbyists, as The Dallas Express reported. 

But while the bill was still in the state Senate, Republican state Sen. Robert Nichols introduced an amendment that gutted the bill, as The Dallas Express also reported at the time. This removed the ban on public dollars for nonprofits that hire lobbyists, including the powerful Texas Association of School Boards. The bill ultimately died in the state House.

“This is an unethical practice of taxpayer dollars being used to lobby against taxpayers, and banning the practice is the toughest fight in Austin because it defunds the deep state,” Middleton said to The Dallas Express. “That’s exactly why I lead the fight to end taxpayer–funded lobbying.”

Minor said the senator worked to get the measure reintroduced in the special session without the “gutting amendment” added during the regular session.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation found Texans spent up to $98.6 million in 2023 on taxpayer-funded lobbying, as The Dallas Express previously reported. 

“Elected leaders are elected for a reason,” Minor said to The Dallas Express. “They represent their communities, their constituents, directly. We don’t need an Austin lobbyist middleman.”

Dallas spent more than $1 million on “internal lobbyists,” supporting legislation to “protect” residents who identify as “LGBTQIA+,” as The Dallas Express also reported. Fort Worth also supported legislation banning “discrimination” based on “sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”

Austin uses its “public-private team of lobbyists” to support bills on “pay equity, education equity, housing equity, and health equity.” Houston supports measures bolstering “regulatory authority” over the energy industry, and San Antonio backs legislation for “health equity and social justice.”

TASB used “school tax dollars” to fight school choice and support men in girls’ restrooms, as The Dallas Express previously reported. The group spent $1.89 million on these sorts of activities in the 2024 election season.

Another taxpayer-funded lobbying group, the Texas Association of School Administrators, asked residents to contact legislators during the special session and tell them “how community censorship would negatively affect your school communities.”

“This year, over $100 million in tax dollars was spent hiring Austin lobbyists to work against conservative issues, including border security, election integrity, property tax reform, and stopping men from invading women’s restrooms,” Middleton told The Dallas Express. “Now is the time to end taxpayer-funded lobbying.”