As former President Barack Obama once famously stated, “Elections have consequences.”
And in this election, if State Rep. Dan Flynn (R–Van) is sent back to the Texas House, one of those consequences will be an even tougher fight for conservatives seeking to end taxpayer-funded lobbying.
A long-standing practice in the halls of the Texas Capitol, taxpayer-funded lobbying refers to cities, counties, and other local governments or taxing entities spending money to lobby the legislature. Often, it is done in an effort to take on pro-taxpayer policies such as property tax relief and reform or measures of increased accountability and transparency.
Banning taxpayer-funded lobbying has been a priority of the Republican Party of Texas and even Gov. Greg Abbott.
Legislation to end the practice in the Lone Star State for good passed the Texas Senate this past legislative session. But when the bill came over to the House, Flynn joined Democrats and liberal Republicans to gut the bill before voting to kill it entirely.
Flynn’s dismal record on taxpayer-funded lobbying and other taxpayer issues is why he has earned a failing grade on the Fiscal Responsibility Index for the past two sessions.
Now Flynn’s betrayal of taxpayers is coming back to haunt him, as his two opponents in the Republican primary—Bryan Slaton and Dwayne “Doc” Collins—have continued to remind voters of Flynn’s out-of-step stance.
Early voting in the Republican primary began on Tuesday, with Election Day on March 3.
You can view our original rundown of the three-way showdown here.
