SW Dallas News

Steve Toth, the District 15 Texas state representative, is among 53 elected officials candidates who have signed a pledge opposing the practice of using public funds to hire lobbyists, according to a blog post by Plano City Councilman Shelby Williams. 

Many local governments hire lobbyists at public expense to convince state lawmakers or other government agencies to take action in favor of certain legislation or against regulations or policies, according to critics of the practice. Local elected officials have funded lobbyists who pushed to keep a high level of property tax revenues flowing, Williams’ blog says.

Activities that are educational or informational are acceptable, but using tax funds to pay lobbyists to influence other levels of government goes against representative democracy, the blog says.

“We urge all Texans to help ban taxpayer-funded contract lobbying and encourage local elected officials and their staffs to directly represent Texans’ local interests before the Legislature,” the pledge says in part.

State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) has authored legislation to ban the use of public funds to hire government affairs lobbyists. Hall’s bill passed the Senate during the last legislative but died in the House of Representatives.

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Signatories to the Pledge to End Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying

First Name	Last Name	Title	Location / Home City
Shelby	Williams	Plano City Council member	Plano
Mayes	Middleton	Texas state rep	Wallisville
Dustin	Burrows	Texas state rep	Lubbock
Steve	Toth	Texas state rep	The Woodlands
Pat	Fallon	Texas state Senator	Prosper
Briscoe	Cain	Texas state rep	Deer Park
Cody	Vasut	Candidate for Texas state rep	Angleton
Mike	Lang	Texas state rep	Granbury
Kyle	Biedermann	Texas state rep	Fredericksburg
Jared	Patterson	Texas state rep	Frisco
Cody	Harris	Texas state rep	Palestine
Will	Metcalf	Texas state rep	Conroe
Tom	Oliverson	Texas state rep	Cypress
Cole	Hefner	Texas state rep	Mt. Pleasant
Greg	Bonnen	Texas state rep	Friendswood
Drew	Springer	Texas state rep	Muenster
James	White	Texas state rep	Hillister
Dade	Phelan	Texas state rep	Beaumont
Scott	Sanford	Texas state rep	McKinney
Candy	Noble	Texas state rep	Allen
Valoree	Swanson	Texas state rep	Spring
Craig	Goldman	Texas state rep	Fort Worth
Matt	Schaefer	Texas state rep	Tyler
Dennis	Paul	Texas state rep	Houston
Ben	Leman	Texas state rep	Anderson
Jake	Ellzey	candidate for Texas state rep	Ellis County
Tom	Craddick	Texas state rep	Midland
Muni	Janagarajan	Candidate for Frisco ISD board	Frisco
Ti	O'Daniel	Candidate for La Porte City Council	La Porte
Jeff	Leach	Texas state rep	Plano
Stephanie	Klick	Texas state rep	Fort Worth
Jason	Corley	Lubbock County commissioner	Lubbock
Shelby	Slawson	Candidate for Texas state rep	Stephenville
Bill	Zedler	Texas state rep	Arlington
Matt	Shaheen	Texas state rep	Plano
Andrew	Murr	Texas state rep	Junction
James	Frank	Texas state rep	Wichita Falls
Reggie	Smith	Texas state rep	Sherman
Jeff	Cason	candidate for Texas state rep	Bedford
Brooks	Landgraf	Texas state rep	Odessa
Jacey	Jetton	Candidate for Texas state rep	Sugar Land
DeWayne	Burns	Texas state rep	Cleburne
Matt	Krause	Texas state rep	Fort Worth
J.M.	Lozano	Texas state rep	Kingsville
Jim	Murphy	Texas state rep	Houston
Tony	Tinderholt	Texas state rep	Arlington
Bryan	Slaton	Candidate for Texas state rep	Royse City
Ed	Thompson	Texas state rep	Pearland
Giovanni	Capriglione	Texas state rep	Southlake
Marian	Knowlton	Candidate for Texas state rep	Atascosa County
H. Scott	Apley	Candidate for Dickinson City Council	Dickinson
Sai	Krishna	Candidate for Frisco City Council	Frisco

Source: ShelbyHWilliams.org