A Florida judicial ethics panel ruled that judges and lawyers who might appear before them in court may not ethically “friend” each other on social networking sites like Facebook. Texas has no such recommendations — and there’s no real consensus here on how social networking should or should not be used. Ben Philpott, who covers politics for KUT News and the Tribune, filed this report.
Texas Ethics Commission
Posted in
State Government
Show Us the Money
The Texas Ethics Commission wants candidates and elected officials to come clean about their spending, and it’s adopted new rules that require them to do just that.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
On the Records: A Data Challenge for Texas
What are state and local governments in Texas doing to make raw data available to the public? Not much.
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State Government
On the Records: The Lobby Latest
How many people could you feed with $2.7 million?
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State Government
The $4.2 Million Question
How much of Bill White’s federal war chest could be used in a race for governor? Most of it.
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State Government
Debtors’ Treadmill, Part Two: Political Payday
Groups that offer high-interest, short-term consumer loans and want to avoid state regulation contributed more than $1.4 million to Texas politicians over the past nine years, Texas Ethics Commission records show.
Posted in
Politics
Campaign Cash: To Cap, or Not to Cap?
Should the state set limits on political contributions? Depends on which candidate you ask.
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Criminal Justice
Off The Books, Part Two: Contractor Conflicts
State contractors – many of whom get paid top dollar to advise Texas agencies – are largely immune from reporting conflicts of interest.
Posted in
State Government
Sanction Season
The state is cracking down on officials who run afoul of election, lobbying and officeholder rules. Just ask Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
On the Records: Ethics Fines Now Searchable
In keeping with our goal of making government data more accessible, we’ve created a simple application for searching fines issued by the Texas Ethics Commission.