 The ongoing debate of whether the value of gifts to public officials had to be disclosed under Texas law was settled on Monday, at least for now. On a 5-3 vote, commissioners chose to allow merely describing what was given, rather than the amount, to public officials.
The controversy came about when Employee Retirement System of Texas member Bill Ceverha described a $50,000 check from GOP bankroller Bob Perry as a "check" rather than listing the value.
What this means to Texans is that open government rules put in place to prevent this sort of mess have a large loophole. Should someone like James Leininger or Bob Perry wish to give $200,000 to, say, a state representative candidate anywhere in Texas, all that candidate would have to report is that they received a "check" from those said individuals.
The ruling, by the 8 Republican members of the Texas Ethics Commission, is an absurd attack on the principals of open government and honesty in politics.
TEC vice chairman Tripp Davenport told the media after the hearing that ruling shows a clear loophole "and it needs to be addressed." Of course, no word yet on whether Republican leaders are in a rush to address the issue.
More after the break... |
| House Democratic Leader Jim Dunnam responded to the ruling saying, "This opinion assaults common sense requirements for full and open disclosure."
The TEC has proposed a changed to the law in it's list of issues needing to be addressed next legislative session. Four bills currently pre-filed would require disclosure of the gift value.
This is certainly an issue that has earned addressing. Regardless of party affiliation, it has been shown time and again that the people do care about full disclosure of political contributions and donations, perhaps more than even whom the donations are from. Keep your eyes peeled for this issue to come up in the spring. How it is handled may make a world of difference in 2008.
Dallas Morning News and The Quorum Report were used as sources for much of this information. |
