Former Texas lawmaker violated lobbying law he helped write, ethics panel finds
, the commission’s vote Thursday effectively blocks a newfound loophole in the revolving door law, which is meant to prevent former public officials from using their inside connections for personal gain. Commissioners were unequivocal Thursday.
Paddie retired last year after chairing a powerful House committee that tackled the state’s response to the 2021 winter storm that killed hundreds and was tasked with holding energy firms accountable for failures. He has since registered as a lobbyist and taken on several of those same companies as clients, a move that’s drawn criticism from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
But the ethics commission found that aspiring lobbyists can’t “undo” a violation by acting retroactively to reimburse their campaign. The triggering event, it said, is the campaign donation. Paddie is representing 11 clients this session that he expects to pay him up to $622,500 to influence lawmakers on their top issues, state data show. His top-paying clients include energy firm Vistra Corp and identity verification company Incode Technologies, Inc.
At the meeting, Fischer had argued that Paddie made a sensible calculation, considering other types of ethics violations can be fixed by substituting campaign donations with personal funds.
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