A program director at Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government also currently serves on an advocacy committee for an affiliate of the Texas Municipal League, a taxpayer-funded lobbying organization.
The Texas Municipal League is funded by dues from city governments across Texas. It describes its primary mission as representing “the interests of member cities before legislative, administrative, and judicial bodies at the state and federal levels.”
Critics have charged that by using tax dollars to advocate against taxpayers, TML practices a form of compelled speech. TML has opposed many taxpayer-backed reforms in the Texas Legislature.
Abolishing taxpayer-funded lobbying has been a top priority of both the Republican Party of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott.
Darrek Ferrell, who runs the Bush School’s City and County Governance program, sits on the advocacy committee for the Texas City Management Association.
According to its website, this advocacy committee seeks to “facilitate membership involvement in the Texas Municipal League Legislative process.”
The committee’s responsibilities include:
- Assisting TML in soliciting the TCMA membership and elected officials to actively engage in the legislative process.
- Vetting legislative issues of importance to the membership. Recommendations shall be submitted to the TCMA Board, which shall comply with affiliate “Mandatory Conditions Related to Legislative Activities” of TML.
- Create tools to help cities understand how state legislation affects them.
- Provide avenues of communication between state and local officials.
While the TCMA serves a variety of support functions for TML’s taxpayer-funded lobbying efforts, it does not engage in direct lobbying activities.
TCMA is funded primarily by member dues, event fees, and corporate sponsorships. Nevertheless, a services agreement between the two organizations details several subsidies the parent organization provides the affiliate.
In addition, TCMA’s website states that “TCMA staff members are TML employees.” The website also states that TCMA has a member on TML’s board.
Prior to his employment with the Bush School, Ferrell worked in a series of municipal governance positions.
Ferrell began his career as a budget analyst for the City of San Antonio. In that position, he played a key role in the creation of a pre-kindergarten program under former mayor Julian Castro (D).
Texas A&M University is a component of the Texas A&M University System. The A&M system is overseen by a Board of Regents that is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate. Robert Albritton of Fort Worth is the current board chairman.
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