South DFW News

A school district southwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has budgeted $1,500 to pay for lobbyists this year.

Alvarado Independent School District, with six regular schools and the alternative learning centers, revealed details of the money to be paid following a request for information from a state representative.

"In response to the public information request ... Alvarado Independent School District has budgeted $1,500 for the portion of organizational membership costs that are applied to lobbyists," the school district said.

It was released following an open records request by Rep. Mayes Middleton (R-Wallisville), who has filed a bill in the House that would bar cities, counties and school districts paying lobbyists working in Austin.

Under Middleton's bill, and a similar one filed in the Senate ahead of the new legislative session, political subdivisions, including cities, counties and school boards, cannot use public funds to hire an individual required to register as a lobbyist.

Further, the bill also bars the paying of dues to an association, including the Texas Municipal League, that hires lobbyists.

In a letter to Texas state senators, whose signatories were led by the current TML president, Coppell City Mayor Karen Hunter, city mayors said the bill deprives "the legislature of valuable information from local governments on the most pressing issues of our time."

The bar on dues could have a crippling effect on the work of the TML and other associations, according to the organization.

"The concept of restricting community advocacy represents a limited view of public discourse and policymaking, not to mention a potentially dangerous understanding of the constitutional guarantees afforded to all citizens," the letter stated.

“Taxpayer-funded lobbyists have opposed property tax relief, election integrity, disclosures of what bonds truly cost taxpayers, the constitutional ban on a state income tax, and they even opposed the bill to fund and protect our teacher’s retirement pensions,” Middleton told the East Houston News. “Taxpayers are forced to pay for lobbyists that lobby against their best interests. Taxpayer-funded lobbying is a modern practice and a bad one.”

Up to $41 million per year is spent by local government on Austin lobbyists, according to a 2017 report by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative organization campaigning for a ban.

Middleton said that 91% of Texas voters oppose political entities paying lobbyists, citing a December 2019 poll by WPA Intelligence, a self-styled conservative polling firm.