Texas has a history of not only allowing money to flow freely through the political system, but secretly. Efforts are being made to change that, but there are similar efforts to derail those attempts. Here's the latest on that battle. Notice that everything is bogged down in the courts.
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Texas’ controversial “dark money” regulation, intended to bring some anonymous political spending out of the shadows, is facing renewed pressure from politically active nonprofits ahead of the 2016 election cycle.
Two groups are waging separate lawsuits against the Texas Ethics Commission to strike down the rule in an attempt to allow all 501(c)(4) nonprofits to continue keeping their donors secret during the upcoming state primaries in March — and beyond.
Meanwhile, the commission, aware that a federal judge will have the final word, has been working for months to amend the rule by tweaking what some of its members have described as “potential weaknesses” that could be exposed in court. The state’s top campaign finance regulator has even admitted that he’s not sure the rule will withstand scrutiny of a federal judge.
At issue: When and how the state can determine that a 501(c)(4) nonprofit should be regulated like a political action committee, which is required to disclose its sources of money.
501(c)(4) nonprofits are allowed to spend money in an election independent of candidates and do not have to reveal who is funding the efforts.
The commission last year passed a rule that would trigger PAC status and disclosure requirements for a politically active nonprofit if more than 25 percent of their total contributions or expenditures in a calendar year are used for electioneering.
The groups suing have said that Texas is trying to label them as PACs when their main purpose is not to support or oppose candidates. They’ve argued in court documents that the rule could impose a “chill” on their future election activity.
Both lawsuits were filed more than a year ago, but there’s been little action in either case.
For more:
- Ethics commission sets sights on ‘campaign in a box’
- Analysis: It's Not Bribery Unless They Say It's Bribery.
