State Agencies Undergo Sunset Review Process – Texas Ethics Commission
Over the past couple of months or so, I have been outlining Texas’ sunset review process. The agencies I have covered so far include the Texas Board and Department of Criminal Justice, the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the State Commission on Judicial Conduct and many others. As a reminder, in order to identify and eliminate government waste, duplication and general inefficiencies in state agencies, the Texas Legislature established the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission in 1977. The sunset review process is designed to review each of these agencies every twelve years. This review is done by taking up a certain number of the state agencies each session when the Texas Legislature convenes.
In last week’s article we examined the Board of Pardons and Paroles which is tasked with determining which prisoners are eligible to be released on either parole or mandatory supervision, as well as determining the conditions the individuals will face while on either parole or mandatory supervision and if necessary their revocation and finally they can recommend the resolution of clemency matters to the Texas Governor. In this week’s article we are going to look at the Texas Ethics Commission.
The Texas Ethics Commission was created on November 5, 1991 after Texas Voters approved an amendment to the Texas Constitution. Article III, 24a of the Texas Constitution created the Texas Ethics Commission. The constitutional responsibilities provided to the Texas Ethics Commission by the Texas Constitution are to provide recommendations for the salary of members of the Texas Legislature, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Any increase of salary to the members of the Texas Legislature, Lieutenant Governor or the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is subject to voter approval in the following general election in which state and county officials are elected. Constitutionally the Texas Ethics Commission is also responsible for establishing the per diem amount for the members of the Texas Legislature and the Lieutenant Governor. All other powers and duties of the Texas Ethics Commission are established by the Texas Legislature.
A couple of the additional powers and duties provided to the Texas Ethics Commission by the Texas Legislature are:
- Enforcement and administration of the laws pertaining to political contributions and expenditures, as well as political advertisements.
- Administration and enforcement of lobbyist registration, reports and activities.
The Texas Ethics Commission is composed of eight commissioners. The Texas Governor appoints four of the commissioners, two of the commissioners are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives appoints two of the commissioners. Members of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate who represent both political parties are able to make recommendations to the appropriate state official for appointment. Commissioners on the Texas Ethics Commission serve four-year terms.
If you are interested in learning more about the Texas Ethics Commission, you can go to their website at https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/ . On the Texas Ethics Commission’s website you can find information regarding candidates and officeholders, lobbyist and political committees along with numerous other bits of information.
Some of the other agencies we will review in the upcoming weeks include the State Pension Review Board, Texas Facilities Commission and a number of other agencies currently going through the sunset process.
If you would like to learn more on your own about the Sunset Advisory Commission or other agencies undergoing the sunset review process, you can go to www.sunset.state.tx.us .
