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Hiding Their Influence: Chapter 6,
Reforming the System
Download a PDF of Chapter 6 (40 K)
Download PDF of entire report (1.5 MB)
Candidates, as well as the public, have a right to know the source of the money used to operate campaigns for elective office. This report uncovered loopholes in current state campaign finance laws that are being purposely and aggressively exploited. Consequently, voters are denied the full and transparent disclosure the system was created to provide them.
The difficulty in today’s campaign finance system is that the public is unable to follow the convoluted paths trial lawyer have created for their funding as it flows through the system to its final destination. As with any contributor, trial lawyers must be required to have accurate, identifiable disclosure of their campaign contributions.
To date, trial lawyer contributions have been intentionally hidden from the public eye. The funds contributed to candidates have complied with the letter of Texas law, but not with the spirit of that law. Millions of dollars have been showered onto Texas’ political landscape cleverly disguised.
As officeholders, Texas lawmakers recognize that candidates require financial contributions in order to campaign effectively in today’s political system and they have set up a system to accommodate that reality. But just as importantly, the reporting requirements recognize that it is not the money itself that stands to skew the system, but the intentional concealment of the source of those funds from voters that will corrupt the system.