Earlier this month, Transparency USA created a survey asking our Texas audience to help shape our content for the Texas Legislative Session. You weighed in on the topics that are most helpful as you seek the answers you need about the money in Texas politics. We wanted to share those results with you. Thanks to those …

Now that lawmakers have convened in Austin, private citizens and PACs are no longer able to make political contributions, so the sole financial influence on lawmakers during the legislative session comes from lobbyists. In fact, in session and out, lobbying is by far the biggest source of money in Texas politics — and taxpayers are …

For the 2020 election cycle (2019 – 2020), more than $109 million in taxpayer dollars was being spent to lobby Austin politicians. With our Lobbying Data feature, Texans can see which organizations hired lobbyists, who they hired, and how much they spent. In addition to pulling back the curtain on lobbying — the largest source …

**Editor’s Note: Since this article went live, the Texas House formally elected Dade Phelan as Speaker of the House.** Texas House Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) is expected to be the next Texas Speaker of the House to replace outgoing Speaker Dennis Bonnen.  After announcing a list of 83 members supporting his bid in November, Phelan …

**This survey is now closed.** As Texas enters its 87th legislative session on January 12, Transparency USA will continue to bring you access to the latest data from the money in state-level politics. In addition to campaign finance numbers, 2021 is our first year to provide citizens with access to lobbying data from the very beginning of the …