Thirteen members of the Texas House and two members of the Texas Senate have already announced their intention to retire or to seek higher office, creating 15 open seats in the Texas legislature with redistricting underway ahead of the 2022 elections. 

This article is Part 4 of a four-part series demonstrating how the money in a lobby sector can impact state politics and legislation. Read the first three articles here, here, and here.

As the 87th Texas legislative session resumes after a two week adjournment, efforts to ban taxpayer-funded (TPF) lobbying are back in the spotlight. Considered priority legislation by the Republican Party of Texas, bills were once again filed by State. Rep. Mayes Middleton (R—Wallisville) in the House, and State Sen. Bob Hall (R—Edgewood) in the Senate.