After resigning his seat earlier this year, former chairman of the powerful Texas House State Affairs Committee Chris Paddie—a top architect of the Legislature’s response to the deadly winter 2021 grid failures—has registered as a lobbyist,show. Paddie has disclosed his work for several clients, most notably Vistra, the state’s biggest power company and a major player in the ongoing energy policy battle that began in the committee he recently helmed.
This new restriction blocked his initial attempt to lobby: In May, he briefly registered to lobby only to deregister a few days later amid. The statute is aimed at preventing lawmakers from plying colleagues with campaign contributions right before leaving office and then promptly trying to influence them as lobbyists.
Late last month, Paddie personally cut a check for $55,500 to his campaign account in order to cover the amount of funds he previously doled out to fellow lawmakers. He disclosed his substantial contribution to his campaign—marked as “Reimbursement for Contributions Made to Candidates”—in an updated campaign finance report submitted days before he again registered as a lobbyist.
However, the ethics statute as written does not appear to make Paddie’s distinction between the funding source of the contribution and the contribution itself, according to ethics attorneys who still question whether he’s allowed to lobby.
A revolving door law? How is that working out for you? Politicians are adept at slithering through any possible loophole around to continue to f**k us in the public and private arena.