Good morning,
While Election Day is tomorrow, one of the most dangerous commissions in the state isn't even elected.
In today's Texas Minute, we talk about the Texas Ethics Commission.
– Brandon Waltens
Monday, November 2, 2020
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In recent years, the Texas Ethics Commission – the state’s regulator of speech regarding legislation, elections, and public officials – has become weaponized as a tool used by the powerful against the grassroots. Texans subjected to the commission’s process can find themselves in an endless cycle of harassment and abuse, forcing them to either hire expensive attorneys or surrender.
Established decades ago in order to set per diem allowances and recommend pay raises for lawmakers, it has repeatedly increased its own power by fiat and uses it against the grassroots. Texans who find themselves in front of the TEC are subjected to a seemingly endless cycle of harassment and abuse. Hiring the lawyers to fight back can easily lead to bankruptcy. In Texas Scorecard Publisher Michael Quinn Sullivan’s long-standing fight with the Texas Ethics Commission, the TEC recently filed for summary judgment.
That means they don’t want to face a jury; instead, they want a judge (who themself has to file reports with the agency) to punish Sullivan for engaging in too much of the wrong kind of speech in 2010 and 2011.
Under the TEC’s standard, any person who has a job and has engaged in a single communication with their representatives about legislation can be accused of committing a crime. On Friday, in response, Sullivan’s lawyers filed their own motion for summary judgment, asking the court to dismiss the case because Texas’ speech restrictions are unconstitutional.
Texans should not have to pay a $750 fee to the state for the privilege of telling legislators — their public servants — what they want them to do.
Ultimately, private citizens should not have their speech regulated. They should be free to speak about legislation, candidates, public officials, and to petition government without being required to pay fees or hire the lawyers necessary to complete elaborate reports.
Instead, lawmakers should impose any legitimate reporting requirements on themselves. Today in History
On November 2, 1783, U.S. Gen. George Washington gave his "Farewell Address to the Army" near Princeton, NJ.
Quote-Unquote
"Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid."
– President Ronald Reagan
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PO Box 12862, Odessa TX 79768 Produced by Michael Quinn Sullivan and Brandon Waltens, the Texas Minute is a quick look at the news and info of the day we find interesting, and hope you do as well. It is delivered weekday mornings (though we'll take the occasional break for holidays and whatnot).
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