January 20, 2021      1:58 PM

Judge orders MQ Sullivan of Empower Texans to pay $10,000 fine in case of illegal lobbying

The fine, originally levied after a 2014 Ethics Commission formal hearing, has been tied up in the courts for years

A state district court judge in Austin has ordered Empower Texans spokesman Michael Quinn Sullivan to pay $10,000 in fines after dismissing a suit he filed against the Texas Ethics Commission.

This is the case dealing with Sullivan's illegal lobbying at the Texas Capitol, without registering as required by law, back in 2010 and 2011.

As Quorum Report readers who have followed this will recall, this case led to a rare public formal hearing of the TEC in which Sullivan refused to testify, citing his First Amendment right not to speak. After that hearing in 2014, the commission fined the maximum $10,000 for the violations.

Sullivan sued and it has been tied up in the courts ever since.

By Scott Braddock

Copyright January 20, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved