Citizens highlighted problems with the Texas Ethics Commission during a recent hearing at the Texas Capitol.
Fran Rhodes, president of True Texas Project, spoke alongside attorney Tony McDonald and former Round Rock Independent School District Trustee Danielle Weston to criticize the TEC for targeting private citizens with frivolous cases seeking punitive damages.
Rhodes’ testimony before the Sunset Advisory Commission hearing emphasized that the TEC’s “current practices are incompatible with the principles of fairness, transparency, and citizen participation.”
“By prioritizing punitive enforcement over transparency and accountability, the TEC has created a system that silences grassroots voices and discourages civic engagement,” said Rhodes.
“It’s unfair that we have to worry about some enemy dragging us into a million-dollar legal process over our right to free speech,” she added.
Rhodes specifically mentioned a TEC case that involved Texas Scorecard publisher Michael Quinn Sullivan, who was accused of failing to register as a lobbyist and fined $10,000 by the commission.
“I don’t want to be the next Michael Quinn Sullivan, and neither does anyone else. It’s unfair that we have to worry about that,” continued Rhodes.
TTP had sent a letter to State Rep. Keith Bell (R-Forney), chairman of the Sunset Advisory Commission, and State Sen. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound), its vice-chairman, on the TEC’s abuses ahead of the hearing.
McDonald shared his own personal experience representing individuals targeted by the TEC, revealing that the commission had spent “over $1 million litigating against me and my clients” over the years.
He also mentioned separate instances where former TEC Chairman Paul Hobby—in a Texas Tribune interview—and Jim Clancy—in an earlier letter to Hobby—acknowledged problems with the agency.
“Those twin problems—that they’re picking on the little guy and destroying lives and that they punish those who try to comply—those problems are just as bad today as they’ve ever been,” stated McDonald.
Now, following a September 2024 Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruling that permits the TEC to go after private citizens in a criminal court capacity, McDonald is further sounding the alarm.
“It’s as if … someone accused you, and then the police said, ‘Well, you have to come down to the station. If you don’t come to the station, you’re going to get fined for not coming and talking to the police,’” emphasized McDonald.
Weston, who went through the sworn complaint process herself while on Round Rock ISD’s school board, said she was the victim of 11 frivolous complaints that were eventually dismissed.
She said the barrage began when an individual filed a complaint accusing her and Dr. Mary Bone—another trustee at the time—of culpability after someone who attended a fundraiser gave a $20 tip to a musician.
“We didn’t know what this meant for ourselves or our families. It was very distressing. And the distress that it brought me, I will never forget,” said Weston.
The hearing on the TEC follows a 2024-2025 staff report on the agency by the Sunset Advisory Commission that was critical of its sworn complaint process. After its release, the State Republican Executive Committee passed a resolution condemning the TEC and urging reform.
