February 16, 2023      4:28 PM

Texas Ethics Commission gives former Speaker Bonnen a free pass while putting former Chair Paddie on notice about lobby activities

A Patrick appointee to the commission slams Paddie as not understanding a law he helped write; Bonnen isn’t mentioned in the meeting but the way he’s handling his campaign contributions gets the thumbs up

For two similar situations regulated by the same Texas campaign finance law, it looks like a giant loophole for one and a warning of a pretty severe punishment in another.

In two advisory opinions unanimously approved Thursday, the Texas Ethics Commission gave the thumbs up to the way former Speaker Dennis Bonnen is using campaign contributions while warning former Chairman Chris Paddie that he faces potentially stiff penalties for the way he’s handled his contributions and lobby business.

By Harvey Kronberg and Scott Braddock

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