Texas Ethics Commission blocks lobbying loophole that former state Rep. Chris Paddie used
A 2019 law says a former lawmaker cannot register to lobby until two years after they last used campaign funds to donate to another politician. Paddie, R-Marshall, sought to get around that earlier this year by reimbursing his campaign account with personal money.
As they target South Texas, Republicans say one Democratic county isn’t maintaining campaign finance records
Starr County, one of the four counties that make up the Rio Grande Valley, has not been able to produce campaign finance reports that it is required to maintain, according to a GOP group targeting the area.
![Political contributions link ERCOT board to Abbott and the state committee now investigating the troubled entity](https://www.ksat.com/resizer/S2KUkb7Jt7yOJXXdnszXDZdsOO8=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/02-25-2021/t_59b504ef93be4c7ba5f66037c9bd81a8_name_image.jpg)
Political contributions link ERCOT board to Abbott and the state committee now investigating the troubled entity
AdWalker, the chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas and a former senior policy advisor to Abbott, contributed $7,620 to Texans for Greg Abbott from 2009 to 2015, state campaign records show. Oliver told KSAT that he was also unaware of any recent criticism levied toward ERCOT by Abbott. Texas Ethics Commission records, however, show that three of the 13 representatives on the House Committee on State Affairs have accepted contributions from ERCOT board member Clifton Karnei. Rep. Chris Paddie, chair of the state affairs committee, also did not respond to calls and an email seeking comment. Other ERCOT board members are listed in TEC records as having contributed to several energy-related PACs.