INFLUENCE TEXAS
Lobbying: A Necessary Evil (at Least in Texas)

Why Banning City-Funded Lobbying Will Kill Local Control

I love to hate lobbyists. These professional middlemen paid by clients to bend the ears of Texas state lawmakers represent the corrupting influence of money and special interests in politics. While there are plenty of bad actors in the lobbying world, there are also those who operate with integrity. The fact of the matter is, due to the complexity and lack of transparency in government, they are necessary—or, if you prefer, a necessary evil.

Lobbying: A Necessary Evil (at Least in Texas)
Amy McCullough
Senator Who Owns ER Votes Against Bill to Stop ...

Sen. Donna Campbell—who owns an interest in a Kyle, Texas ER—voted against the original version of SB 1264, which prohibits surprise billing of consumers in situations where the patients have no choice which provider they see or which facility they visit, including medical emergencies, non-network care at in-network hospitals and out-of-network lab and imaging work.

Senator Who Owns ER Votes Against Bill to Stop ER Medical Billing Abuses
INFLUENCE TEXAS
'Bonnenghazi' Explained in 3 Charts

Alleged Bribe Offered by House Speaker Bonnen to Empower Texans

Here’s the controversy explained in three charts designed by Influence Texas designer Virgil Almeda.

'Bonnenghazi' Explained in 3 Charts

Lobbying: A Necessary Evil (at Least in Texas)

Lobbying: A Necessary Evil (at Least in Texas)

Why Banning City-Funded Lobbying Will Kill Local Control

I love to hate lobbyists. These professional middlemen paid by clients to bend the ears of Texas state lawmakers represent the corrupting influence of money and special interests in politics. While there are plenty of bad actors in the lobbying world, there are also those who operate with integrity. The fact of the matter is, due to the complexity and lack of transparency in government, they are necessary—or, if you prefer, a necessary evil.

Why Can't You Get Texas Lawmaker's Personal Financial Statements Online?

Why Can't You Get Texas Lawmaker's Personal Financial Statements Online?

Texas state politicians and bureaucrats are required to annually file personal financial statements, which can highlight potential conflicts of interest by legislators and agency heads.

Unfortunately, these personal financial statements are not posted online by the government. Influence Texas is in the process of creating a searchable database for these documents. In the meantime, feel free to use our Drop Box to view them.

Senator Who Owns ER Votes Against Bill to Stop ER Medical Billing Abuses

Senator Who Owns ER Votes Against Bill to Stop ER Medical Billing Abuses

Sen. Donna Campbell—who owns an interest in a Kyle, Texas ER—voted against the original version of SB 1264, which prohibits surprise billing of consumers in situations where the patients have no choice which provider they see or which facility they visit, including medical emergencies, non-network care at in-network hospitals and out-of-network lab and imaging work.

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Who Hates Medical Marijuana in Texas?

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Who Hates Medical Marijuana in Texas?

During the 86th Legislative session, local Austin talk radio hosts Jeff and Ed  opined the fact that although HB 3703—a compassionate use bill which would allow persons with epilepsy, cancer and other severe diseases to legally obtain medical marijuana—had passed the House, it might not pass the Senate.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has the ability to block bills from the Senate floor, said that he did not support medical marijuana, due to concerns that it could pave the way toward full legalization of the drug.

Ed, or Ed Clements, who “currently serves as a board member of the Capitol of Texas Alzheimer's Association” and supports the bill, wondered if lawmakers like Patrick lacked compassion for the suffering and also hypothesized that perhaps big drug companies were opposing the measure. He said he wished he had the campaign donation records for Texas lawmakers to determine if that was the case.

End of of the Legislative Session: So Many Bills, So Little Time

End of of the Legislative Session: So Many Bills, So Little Time

If numbers from past Texas legislative sessions are an indicator, the Texas Legislature will probably pass more than 1,000 bills between now and the end of the 86th regular legislative session on May 27th. That’s a lot of bill passing, considering that the session started in January. Here are the numbers:

  • The number of bills introduced for 2019 session: 7,324

  • The number of bills passed so far (May 13, 2019): 186

  • The number of bills that will likely be passed by May 27, 2019: More than 1,000

How to Use Influence Texas to Become an Informed Voter

How to Use Influence Texas to Become an Informed Voter

Early voting has started has started in Texas! You can vote for in races for Ted Cruz’s U.S. Senate seat, governor, attorney general, supreme court justice, court of appeals, state representative, state senator, city mayor, city councilman, and school board of trustees, just to name a few.

So how can you be an informed voter? Let’s be honest: Unless you’ve got a whole lot of time on your hands, it’s virtually impossible for you to be properly informed to vote in every race. But when it comes to races for state lawmakers — the Texas House and Senate seats — Influence Texas is here to help.

Dealing with Voter Anxiety

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by Amy M. Mosley
Co-Founder, Influence Texas

Got voter anxiety? You’ve come to the right place! That’s exactly why I started Influence Texas.

I was so overwhelmed by the toxicity of the 2016 presidential election that I didn’t vote. It’s the first time in my left since I’ve been eligible that I’ve abstained from participation in a major U.S. election. I was going to go and vote for down-ballot races, but honestly, I didn’t have the emotional fortitude to dig for hours through various news publications to try to find the info I needed.

As a former investigative reporter I was aware that politicians do whatever they get paid to do. So what a voter needs to know is: (1) Who is paying the politician (campaign finance records) and (2) how that politician is behaving as a result (voting records).

I thought surely there must be an app for that. There wasn’t. Thus, Influence Texas was born.

Our free web app app.influencetexas.com is a one-stop shop for relevant information on your state senators and representatives. You can easily scroll through a list of your politician’s top financial contributors in less than two minutes, and you can read as much or as little about bills and voting records from the last legislative session as you like.

There’s no commentary. No vile talking heads. No pop-up ads. Nothing to get in your way.

Enjoy!

P.S. - Remember that you can’t take your phone (or any other wireless communication device) within 100 feet of a polling place! So study up before you go vote.

KVUE Video: New app tracks money and votes in Texas politics

Influence Texas tracks how Texas lawmakers voted in the 2016 legislative session and who gave how much to Texas lawmakers.

Author: Jenni Lee
Published: 2:03 PM CDT September 9, 2018
Updated: 6:05 PM CDT September 9, 2018

AUSTIN — Just in time for the mid-term elections, a new app is tracking money and votes in Texas politics.

Influence Texas tracks how Texas lawmakers voted in the 2016 legislative session and who gave how much to Texas lawmakers.

With just the tap of the top donor tab, it was easy to find out who they are.

According to the app, the Texas Association of Realtors gave the largest amount during the last election cycle: More than $9.3 million.

Co-founder Michael Rollins said the information is beneficial for all voters.

"An average person can go look at what the voting record of their representatives is, right? There's no editorialization, there's no filtering, you have raw access to the data," said Rollins.

Without this app, that same information can be found on the Texas Ethics Commission.

Only you need filer identifications and codes. It can get complicated for users.

But Influence Texas gives you instant access.

It not only shows you how much Texas lawmakers received in donations but how they voted during the 2016 legislative session.

The co-founder said she created the app because she was fed up with the 2016 presidential election.

"I was also frustrated in the 2016 presidential election and just it's a toxic political environment and I really wanted a place where I could go get some information on Texas, Texas politicians quick and easy," she said.

They are already working on a future version of Influence Texas that is expected to show several election cycles instead of just the most recent one. A more comprehension app that gives even more access to all taxpayers.

Influence Texas is a public benefit corporation, a for profit group that measures its success through it's mission rather through profit. If you would like to help out, the co-founders urge you to sign up for their mailing list for future surveys.