Carl Tepper, image from Facebook page
There’s a proposal to stop certain people from taking office in Texas even if they win an election.
The proposal in the next legislative session – starting in January – from State Representative Carl Tepper of Lubbock disqualifies people from office for refusing to file their campaign finance reports.
“I think we’ve got some candidates downstate that have some pretty hotly contested races that are not filing their campaign finance reports,” Tepper said.
“You can be fined, but we’re going to put some real teeth in it. You’re going to have to file it or you’re ineligible to hold the office,” Tepper said.
LubbockLights.com made an open records request for violations in the last five years from the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC). Our examination of the records found four people either outright not filing campaign reports or waiting until long after their race was over.
Plenty of folks filed late or with mistakes.
However, the TEC would not necessarily know who failed to file. Most candidates file locally. For example, Lubbock City Council candidates file with the city – not the state.
J.R. Johnson, TEC’s executive director, said, “With local filers, the Ethics Commission doesn’t have that information unless somebody files a complaint.”
A far more common problem among statewide candidates, office-holders or appointees was failing to file a personal financial statement. That can carry a criminal charge at least to the extent local prosecutors cooperate with the TEC.
When asked about it, Tepper said he would consider adding personal financial statements to his proposed legislation.
What’s the difference?
Campaign finance reports disclose the money received and spent in a political campaign or in conducting duties as an office holder.
Personal financial statements disclose personal financial interests unrelated to the political campaign or official duties.
The campaign reports can be found online. Personal financial statements are public record, but you need to make an open records request to get them.
Source: J.R. Johnson, executive director of the Texas Ethics Commission.
The baroness
Tepper scrutinized one candidate, saying, “There was a lady who was in the governor’s race, some kind of millionaire out of Houston and she was spending a load of money …”
The candidate was “Baroness” Kandy Kaye Horn who made news by putting up billboards all over Texas in the GOP primary for the most recent governor’s race.
The Baroness, who purchased her title according to news reports, spent roughly $1.4 million of her own money. Three times she filed her reports late, according to TEC records. Her most untimely report was due on July 15, 2022, and not filed until September 22. Although, the report said she spent nothing for that time period.
Horn made the TEC’s delinquent filer list with a fine of $7,300.
But public records provided by TEC showed worse cases.
A TEC “final order” fined a man $10,000 who ran unsuccessfully for Dallas County Commissioner in the March primary and said, “[He] had not filed any campaign finance reports as of June 4, 2024.”
Another case said a candidate for Texas House District 4 “ … did not file anything with the TEC until two months after he launched his campaign and had almost $20,000 in campaign financial activity during the period in which he had no treasurer appointment on file. Because the respondent still has not validly filed any report disclosing his campaign financial activity, the public has received no notice of any of the respondent’s activity”
The ‘personal financial statement’ problem
A spreadsheet provided by TEC for the last five years listed more than 100 names of people who were subjected to a criminal referral (class B misdemeanor) for not filing a personal financial statement. That does not mean local prosecutors filed charges and the TEC does not track who gets charged.
Some were candidates for office. Fourteen were appointed to various boards and commissions by Governor Greg Abbott.
Johnson explained why the statements are important.
“That personal financial statement is a is a way to disclose to the public the other sources of personal income that you receive or the other financial assets that you, as an office holder, may have to let the public know about any potential sources of conflict,” Johnson said.
“The purpose is to enable voters to make informed decisions at the ballot box,” Johnson said.
In addition to the criminal referrals, the TEC can and does levy fines for failing to file personal financial reports.
Disqualification, not jail
LubbockLights.com asked Tepper why he would prefer to disqualify those who don’t file.
“I’m tired of people throwing everybody in jail for every little thing. … We’ve criminalized politics so much already. It’s being used as a weapon. I’d rather just make them ineligible,” Tepper said.
If the winner is disqualified for not filing, then there’s the problem of who takes office.
“I think you’d be stuck with the special election. I don’t want to put this person who lost – what if he … got five votes? The other guy got 500 votes. I can’t have ‘five vote guy’ by default becoming the guy who holds the office,” Tepper said.
And if not a special election, there might be times when someone is appointed.
Filing late would not be enough. It would have to be someone who flat out did not file the reports, Tepper said.
“It’s already so insurmountable to run to these offices. God bless everyone who tries,” Tepper said.
Changes made and more coming
Johnson has been the executive director for more than two years. And he thinks TEC is better equipped to handle proposed changes coming from the legislature.
“I think the last two years we’ve really been focused on our technology, trying to bring it into the 21st century. We have been improving our filing system in a number of ways,” Johnson said.
It’s not just Tepper’s bill. There’s also a proposal to make all candidates file with TEC –and none locally. That would have been more expensive even just a few years ago.
The proposal would be 10 times more candidates filing directly with TEC, Johnson estimated.
“But we have been doing a whole lot in the last couple of years to bring those costs down by creating a more efficient and automated filing system,” Johnson said. “The processing times are far improved.”
The records are now kept on a cloud-based computer system, Johnson said. The idea is candidates can file more easily on their own without calling TEC staff with questions.
He wants TEC to focus less on small violations and more on “violations of public trust.”
As for Tepper’s proposal to disqualify candidates, Johnson said, “It’s not my place to offer opinions on what is good or bad policy. It’s my job to implement the policy that the legislature passes. … What I will say is it’s already required by law – these reports, and I think they’re important reports.”
Local perspective
It’s impossible for TEC to know how many candidates statewide never file their campaign finance reports or personal financial statements, unless there is a complaint. That’s because local candidates file locally. So, LubbockLlights.com reached out to Lubbock City Secretary Courney Paz.
“We do not have any specific statistics regarding how often someone who runs for office fails to file campaign finance reports or files the report late. The Office of the City Secretary is merely a repository for those records,” Paz said.
“We do not keep specific statistics on how often a person files late or fails to file; however, we do maintain a list of officials (and candidates if it’s an election year) that are required to file in accordance with Sec. 145.008 of the Texas Local Government Code … ,” Paz said.
The same holds true for PACs or political action committees.
“This office is also not aware of any PACs that have failed to file reports. We only become aware of their existence once an appointment of a campaign treasurer is filed with our office, which then makes a PAC responsible for filing reports,” Paz said.
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