Viral Judge Violated State Disclosure Laws
A judge who has been the subject of national media attention after a video of him acting in an abusive manner towards a court IT worker went viral on the internet has violated two different state laws concerning campaign finance and personal financial disclosures. According to a review of information on file with the Texas […]
Sullivan, Ethics Commission Reach Settlement
The Texas Ethics Commission and Texas Scorecard Publisher Michael Quinn Sullivan have reached a settlement agreement that will put an end to the litigation between the activist and the state agency, which has taken more than a decade to resolve. The dispute between Sullivan and the Texas Ethics Commission dates back to 2014, when the Commission determined […]
Former Democrat Chairman Sanctioned by Ethics Commission
The Texas Ethics Commission has ordered former Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa to pay a $1,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that Hinojosa, as Campaign Treasurer of the Texas Democratic Party, violated state campaign finance laws. The Order and Agreed Resolution between the Texas Ethics Commission and Hinojosa was finalized last week. The order references an […]
Lina Hidalgo Alleged to Have Misused Government Resources Again
The Texas Ethics Commission will review allegations that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo illegally misused government resources after Hidalgo used her official Harris County Twitter account to promote IWillVote.com- a website run by the Democratic National Committee. Hidalgo’s tweet, which was posted on October 4 and included a video of Hidalgo promoting IWillVote.com, has since […]
Lina Hidalgo Sanctioned for Illegally Misusing Government Resources
The Texas Ethics Commission has imposed a $500 penalty on Democratic Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo for violating Texas law by using public funds for political advertising. On November 10, 2023, Hidalgo held a press conference in her official capacity as Harris County Judge at the Harris County Administration Building. During the press conference, Hidalgo made numerous […]
Influencer Disclosure Rule Scheduled for Adoption
UPDATE: The Texas Ethics Commission approved the proposed disclosure rule by a 7-0 vote at its meeting on June 18. The Texas Ethics Commission will consider adopting a proposed rule at their meeting next week that will require social media influencers to post disclosure statements when they are paid to post political advertising online. The agenda […]
Ethics Commission Takes Aim at Paid Influencer Ads
Last week, the Texas Ethics Commission took the first step in adopting rulemaking that would require social media influencers to include political advertising disclosures when they are paid to post political advertising online. While the Texas Election Code generally requires paid political advertising that appears on an internet website to include a disclosure statement that […]