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January 20, 2021 1:58 PM
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.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright January 20, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 20, 2021 12:33 PM
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Copyright January 20, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 19, 2021 3:42 PM
Cooke County dominates House District 68 in population, but Jack County turnout could be key factor
In the lightning-fast race
for the open seat in the Texas House recently vacated by Sen. Drew
Springer, R-Muenster, the five Republicans and one Democrat running have likely
put as many miles on their cars as dollars they have raised. Election day is
this coming Saturday, January 23.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By James Russell
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Copyright January 19, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 15, 2021 7:19 PM
“I am honored that so many Texans support our vision of responsible government and getting Texas back to work,” Phelan said. “At this critical moment in our state’s history, I appreciate the backing of Texans in my district and across the state.”
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Copyright January 15, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 15, 2021 5:12 PM
“The Texas Department of Public Safety is aware of armed protests planned at the Texas State Capitol this week and violent extremists who may seek to exploit constitutionally protected events to conduct criminal acts,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “As a result, DPS has deployed additional personnel and resources to the Capitol and are working closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Austin Police Department to monitor events and enforce the rule of law.”
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Copyright January 15, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 15, 2021 4:52 PM
Staffer moves, new lobby shops, trade association hires, and more
The session has
begun with little fanfare, masks, COVID tests, and a first-day-of-school
feeling despite the beefed up security and pandemic restrictions. Lobbyists and
others who avoided the Texas Capitol on day one probably made the
right call since some members were cramming special guests into their offices
and, at some point, the issue became whether too many folks were in some of
those rooms. It’s awkward if you’re adding to that problem
with your presence.
Add to that the
fact that we already have our first case of a member who has tested positive
during session and the questions how all this is really supposed to work keep
piling up. It will be an evolving process, it seems.
Meantime, most offices
have staffed up and some new lobby shops are coming on the scene. If you have
career news to share as we kickstart session don’t hesitate
to send it along to ksbraddock@gmail.com
and use POTM in the subject line.
Here’s the latest
edition of People on the Move.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright January 15, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 15, 2021 2:24 PM
The full list of committee
assignments is here.
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Copyright January 15, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 15, 2021 9:32 AM
Deshotel told the Texas Tribune he tested positive on Thursday. Meantime, Rep. Beckley tweeted "I was informed, last night, a member in my 3 foot radius on the TX house floor tested positive for #COVID19. They did not test on Tuesday prior to the swearing in ceremony. I was on the floor weds & thurs & exposed -10 day self quarantine"
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Copyright January 15, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 14, 2021 3:38 PM
A subtext of the rules discussion: The court record for the 2021 redistricting process is already taking shape
After much internal debate
over limitations on amendments, a so-called “Consensus Calendar,” and a few
other things, the Texas House on Thursday afternoon adopted its
rules for doing legislative business during a pandemic. “It was a member driven
process,” said Speaker Dade Phelan after the final vote of 141 to 0.
Saying he and a working
group had listened to all sides, Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, declared
“the Consensus Calendar is gone” as he laid out the rules. However, Rep. Hunter
said that when it came to any tweaks intended to change the redistricting
process, he would simply ask members to vote no. On partisan lines, they did.
By mid-afternoon, most of
the talking on the microphones in the House was either Democrats already
working to establish the court record for the 2021 redistricting process or
Republicans who did not participate in the pre-discussion to eliminate
contentious provisions like that defunct “Consensus Calendar.”
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright January 14, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 14, 2021 3:17 PM
Patrick has raised more in campaign funds than any previous Lt. Governor in Texas history, per his campaign
Here’s the full news release from Lt. Gov. Dan
Patrick’s campaign
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Copyright January 14, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 14, 2021 2:08 PM
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Copyright January 14, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 13, 2021 7:01 PM
At first blush, it’s a proposal to streamline the legislative process for the sake of limiting personal interactions on the floor during COVID. But while the other pandemic-related additions to the rules may not be agreeable to all the players, they do not systematically change how easily a bill is passed like this would
On the eve of the rules
debate in the Texas House, both Republican and Democratic caucuses
apparently spent considerable time this afternoon discussing a proposal to create
a new calendar aimed at speeding legislation along when COVID-19 has created
concern about members spending long periods of time on the floor.
Democrats and some
Republicans tell QR that there isn’t any
accusation of a power grab. But there is some concern that certain bills might be
sped through the process when there should be more time spent actually debating them – pandemic or not.
So, what’s
this actually about?
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright January 13, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 13, 2021 6:01 PM
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Copyright January 13, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 13, 2021 4:48 PM
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Copyright January 13, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 13, 2021 11:28 AM
Campaign raised $11.5M over last six months
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Copyright January 13, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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