Good morning, 

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Brandon Waltens 

Monday, February 1, 2021
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• You may know your lawmakers. But do you know the lobbyists that also swarm the halls of the Texas Capitol?
   
• Over the past couple weeks, Texas Scorecard has examined some of Texas’ highest-paid lobbyists.
   
• By using data from Transparency USA, we’ve looked at their backgrounds,  how much they are being paid to influence elected officials, and who their clients are. Here are the lobbyists we’ve profiled so far:

• Daniel Hodge - Formerly Gov. Greg Abbott’s Chief of Staff, Hodge left to join the lobby in 2017....and quickly became the highest-paid lobbyist in the state, with a maximum reported income of $8,269,999.
   
• Reed Clay - Another former staffer to Gov. Greg Abbott, Clay served as deputy Chief of Staff.  Now he lobbies for up to $4,675,000, with a vast array of taxpayer-funded clients and major corporations. 
   
• Robert Miller - Raking in up to $4,109,999, Miller is a  large beneficiary of taxpayer-funded lobbying with public agencies in the Houston area, including the  Houston Municipal Employees Pension System, the Houston Police Officers’ Pension System, University of Houston, the Port of Houston authority, and the City of Galveston Employees’ Retirement Plan for Police. 
   
• Royce Poinsett - Former legal advisor to Gov. Rick Perry, Poinsett now makes up to $4,320,000 from his clients—from business associations like the Texas Association of Freestanding Emergency Centers, to taxpayer-funded entities like the Guadalupe River Authority.
   
• Todd Smith - A political consultant to Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Smith is also a lobbyist, making up to an estimated $5,169,999 from lobbying in the past two years. 3 percent of Smith’s clients are taxpayer-funded, including the City of Stephenville.
   
• Andrea McWilliams - With a maximum income amount of $8,089,999 over two years, McWilliams is the second highest-paid lobbyist in Texas. Her top client is Ryan LLC, a firm that often seeks special tax breaks for its clients from the legislature.
   
• Dean McWilliams - With over $7 million in lobby contracts, he’s the third highest-paid lobbyist behind his wife, Andrea. The two notably have contracts with MTX Group, which was awarded a state contract to bring contact tracing to Texas. The program has been criticized for its inefficiency and its overstepping adoption of a state policy without the state Legislature’s involvement, as well as the potential violation of HIPAA requirements, privacy, and civil liberties.
   
• Carol McGarah - Making up to $6,369,999, McGarah is the CEO of Blackridge, a large lobbying firm in Texas. McGarah specializes in environment regulation, and also receives 17 percent of her contracts from taxpayer-funded entities.
   
• Rusty Kelley - With contracts worth up to $6,384,999, Kelley lobbies for a number of major corporations as well as local governments, including Waco, Amarillo, Lubbock, Pecos City, and Reeves County.

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