Committee chair fundraising

Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations, how often they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political entities may contribute to campaigns.

This article is Part 3 of a four-part series demonstrating how the money in a lobby sector can impact state politics and legislation. We’ve selected the Green Energy sector due to a resurgence of interest in a behind-the-scenes look at renewables following the 2021 snowstorms, but you can follow the money in any industry of interest that is spending lobbying dollars in Austin.

Our “Money Behind the Committee Chair” series spotlights the Texas lawmakers chairing prominent committees during the 87th Legislative Session, as well as the individual donors and PACs who have supported their campaigns leading up to this session.

Although disgraced Speaker of the Texas House Dennis Bonnen announced he would not seek reelection, he has not yet resigned, and he remains in control of more than $3.8 million. According to the most recent campaign finance reports released January 15, Bonnen has $824,334.01 in his campaign account and $2,996,243.90 in Texas Leads, a PAC established by Bonnen.

Texas House Representative Dustin Burrows, who represents District 83 (Lubbock and a swath of West Texas), resigned his post as Chair of the Republican Caucus in the Texas House, apparently as a result of his role in the scandal currently plaguing Texas Republicans. Although he did not resign from office, he finds himself vulnerable in 2020. 

On Wednesday, the Texas House General Investigating Committee, tasked with investigating internal House affairs, announced it will hold a public hearing on Monday, August 12 to investigate allegations against Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen. The number one donor this year to House Rep. Morgan Meyer, the Chairman of the investigating committee? None other than Bonnen himself.

Last week we reported that lawmakers had lumped this session’s most prominent pieces of legislation — property tax reform, school finance reform, and a sales tax — into one codependent heap. Yesterday, the Senate took steps to remove and kill the sales tax portion of the heap.

Empower Texans (ET) is the standard bearer of conservative PACs in the state of Texas. While they do not directly lobby for specific pieces of legislation, ET does push for more conservative representation in Austin. They often claim that rather than looking to secure a seat at the table of power, they instead are working to get rid of the table altogether.