TDP Action Alert: Need emails to Texas Ethics Commission.

[crispini]

Via email:

TDP Action Alert

Stop the Texas Ethics Commission From Protecting DeLay-Craddick Cronies!

Tomorrow, the Texas Ethics Commission will consider a rule that would require bankrupt lobbyist and former TRMPAC treasurer Bill Ceverha to properly disclose a gift from Republican mega-donor Bob Perry of swift-boat fame. Instead of listing the monetary value, Ceverha tried to hide his disclosure by just listing the word "check".

If the Ethics Commission allows Ceverha to avoid full disclosure, they're opening up a loophole for elected officials and state appointees to accept unlimited amounts of money and only require them to report "cash" or "check".

How can the Ethics Commission enforce ethics laws if they don't know whether a gift is worth $250 or $250,000? They can't.

How can we be confident that our elected officials and appointees are making decisions in the best interest of Texans if they can accept huge cash gifts in private?

We can't and that's why it's so important that you let the Texas Ethics Commission know that you want them to shine the light on corruption.

Send a Message to the Proponents of Corruption that Enough is Enough!

1) If you're in Austin this Friday, consider attending the Texas Ethics Commission to show your support for Rep. Lon Burnam as he fights to ensure that Texas doesn't turn back the clock on transparency in government.

Date and Time: 9:00am on Friday, March 24th

Location: Room E1.010, Capitol Extension, Austin

2) Email the Executive Director of the Texas Ethics Commission, David Reisman, at [e-mail] and let him know that you believe that the financial disclosure laws should apply to ALL elected officials and appointees.

Who is Bill Ceverha?

Ceverha is a DeLay-Craddick crony who has extensive ties to the Republican Party of Texas and was appointed by Craddick to the Texas Employees Retirement Service Board, which manages over $20 billion in investments that pay for insurance and retirement benefits for state and higher education workers and their families.

While working for Tom DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority PAC, Bill Ceverha violated state law and used corporate money illegally to elect more Republicans to the State House and made Tom Craddick Speaker. Since then, he's helped steer thousands of dollars into Craddick's and other Republicans' campaign accounts

It's no surprise that Bill Ceverha doesn't believe he has to tell the public how much Bob Perry pays him - Bill Ceverha has a history of violating the law and lying to the public.

Violated state law and ordered by a District Judge to pay over $196,000 in damages
Declared personal bankruptcy to avoid paying these fines
Tells the media he quit his lobbying practice after being appointed to the ERS Board in 2003, but continued to lobby through 2005

The Republican culture of corruption and cronyism in our state government must stop! The TDP will continue to alert you to how Republicans are using taxpayer money and the power of government to benefit Republican donors and corporate interests instead of Texans.

[sonias]

1. Very important action!

Come on DU, take a 5 minute activist action and send David Reisman at least an e-mail. Don't let them continue to create loopholes for their corrupt finance schemes.

Hold them accountable!

Sonia

[sonias]

2. Quick update - we got screwed

I'll post a longer report later but the toothless ethics commission declined to publish the proposed rule Lon Burnam requested. The vote was 4 to publish and 3 against, which you would think meant we won. In fact they barely had a quorum of members, so they needed at least 6 members to vote to publish the rule. So basically Ceverha or anyone else does not have to disclose the amount of money (monetary value) of a gift according to the Ethics Commission. What a joke of a commission.

It was a pretty complicated hearing and frankly even Attorney Buck Wood said he didn't know what the heck was going on. Craig McDonald had the best comments of the hearing concerning an armored truck. I'll put it all in my longer report.




Sonia

[sonias]

3. Longer update - we're still screwed

This had to be the most confusing hearing I've ever attended, and that includes the redistricting hearings. The background of the hearing is above under point #1. I guess watchdogs and possibly even Ronnie Earl's division picked up on the fact that Ceverha listed a gift from Bob Perry (Swift Boat Liar) simply as "check" and the Ethics Commission failed to fine him or require him to report the actual monetary amount. Representative Burnham, of course won't allow that little scam to stand. The action vote today was simply to publish the rule for comment. It was not a vote on passing the rule, simply publishing it so it could move on, and have a hearing with public input.

Attorney Buck Wood who is representing Lon Burnham, I imagine in a lawsuit on this case, opened up the testimony in the hearing. Wood said he really couldn't understand what part of the legislation the committee did not understand. He said he felt Burnham really shouldn't need a rule. Wood had a part in drafting the original legislation that required the disclosures of the value of gifts. He said it has been very clear from the beginning that description meant, "describe the gift". If you received a car you would have to put down something like Cadillac, so that the people could make an informed decision about who might be influencing a decision maker. He also chided the board for not having the meeting taped. Someone on the board responded that the decision to tape a meeting was made by the House.

Rep. Burnham was up next. Rep. Burnham asked for a rule from the Ethics Committee, to "clarify" what he feels is perfectly clear legislative language, stating gifts must be described. Burnham says the intent of the legislation was of course, full disclosure. Burnham gave a little background about himself, He'd been a student who interned for Common Cause during the Sharpstown Scandal. Burnhan said that the commission's staff advice is simply wrong, and pointed out that people could literally just put the words "thing of value" and the commission would let that stand. He said that was ludicrous. Good discussion from some of the members on the dais who agreed with him that this was a loophole that should be closed. Burnham feels like it's not a loophole and that the commission was simply not doing their job, and were getting bad advice from staff on the interpretation of the legislation.

Craig McDonald of Texans for Public Justice, who lives and breathes ethics and finance reporting, testified next. He read the committee the definition of the word "description" and said that the word "check" was not a sufficient description for money. McDonald said if the commission was starting to take the position that this kind of reporting was meeting the intent of the law, then Ceverha could very easily listed an armored truck full of money, simply with the word "truck". And certainly that was ridiculous. And at that point another commissioner (Nicholas Taylor) agreed with him that the work "check" was simply the method of conveyance, and not a description of the gift.

One more person testified, who I think was a lobbyist. I didn't catch his name, but he also agreed that a rule was needed to clarify that gifts of money need to have a declared amount as part of the description.

Commissioner Taylor again agreed saying, someone could list "10 pieces of paper" as a description, when in fact those pieces of paper were 10 $100 bills. One commissioner, a particularly snarly guy by the name of Raymond Trip Davenport, said while there may be a loophole, that he did not believe the commission had the authority to interpret the legislation. Davenport thinks the legislation should be changed in the House and that Rep. Burnham should file a bill correcting it. Yeah right, like Craddick would ever allow legislation to do that.

There are apparently 8 commission members and only 7 were present. They took the vote, the ayes for Burnham's to get his rule published for comment were 4, and 3 against. The vote failed, because according to the Chair Cullen R. Looney, the vote needed at least 5 ayes.

So here are the true criminals with no ethics on this commission who are doing nothing but protecting Perry, Craddick and Ceverha:
Ross Ficher
Raymond Trip Davenport (vice chair)
Francisco Hernandez

The 4 yes votes were
David Montagne
David A. Reisman
Cullen R. Looney (chair)
Tom Harrison

Ethics in the Ethics Committee, who needs them?

Sonia

[MagickMuffin]

4. Thanks for the update

sounds like it was a real doozy.

Looks as though anyone can now violate the ethics of how much money one receives and just put down whatever the Fook they want and that will be perfectly legal.
Of course this will change as soon as a democrat starts behaving in this manner. All hell will break out if that happens!

Funny how when the Repubs are in charge the rules always change to suit their corruption.

Sonia you really are appreciated.

[sonias]

5. Republicans always change rules to suit their corruption

Ain't that the truth!

Sonia

[crispini]

6. Thanks for the update.

[sonias]

8. They'll be back next month

AAS article 3/29/06
Criticism mounts over ethics commission's ruling on gifts
AUSTIN — The chorus of criticism has grown over a recent Texas Ethics Commission ruling that some warn could lead to a sharp rise in unreported campaign contributions.

Government watchdog groups continued their assault Monday on the ethic commission's decision last week not to require public officeholders to disclose the amount of some gifts. "It's outrageous — the ethics commission has let the people of Texas down again," said Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of the Austin office of Public Citizen.

The question arose after Bill Ceverha, a board member of the Employees Retirement System of Texas, received a gift from Houston home builder Bob Perry, which Ceverha described only as a "check" on a financial disclosure form.

The ethics commission ruled that Ceverha's description was adequate and refused to revisit the rule or its interpretation, saying it was a matter for the Legislature. However, commissioners said they may reconsider the issue next month.

Sonia

[sonias]

7. Officials can hide gift amounts

Ft Worth Star Telegram article 3/25/06
Sat, Mar. 25, 2006
Officials can hide gift amounts

AUSTIN - It's OK for public officials not to disclose the value of checks given to them as gifts, the state panel charged with enforcing good government practices has ruled in a private meeting.

The ruling by the Texas Ethics Commission during a closed-door executive session and confirmed Friday by several observers close to the case involves a check for an undisclosed amount made last year to Bill Ceverha, a figure in the fundraising scandal surrounding U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay. Houston home builder Bob Perry, the state's No. 1 individual campaign donor, gave Ceverha the check.

Ceverha disclosed it in a personal finance report he filed in his capacity as a board member of the Employees Retirement System of Texas. He listed it as a gift, described only as "check," and did not disclose its amount.

The staff of the Ethics Commission ruled earlier that state law requires that public officials need only describe gifts, not disclose their value. On Thursday, the Texas Ethics Commission board upheld that ruling during its closed-door meeting, said Craig McDonald, director of the government watchdog group Texans for Public Justice.

Davenport should be removed from this commission if he refuses to do his job. And he has no ethics!


Sonia