By Jennifer Bendery, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX –
"You don't take a switchblade to a gunfight," said Rep. Mark Strama (D-Austin), who today joined Rep. Mike Villarreal (D-San Antonio) on the South Steps of the State Capitol to announce the filing of HB 1104, which establishes a limit of $100,000 on how much a person can give and how much a candidate can accept in a state election.
"Today is the first step in a journey of bringing more people into our democratic process," said Villarreal, author of the bill. Donors who give more than $100,000 have been called "bad apples playing against the spirit of the law," he said, but they are simply playing by the rules. "If there is anybody to blame, it's the rule makers who established the game," said the San Antonio lawmaker. He said legislators will be making "better public policy" by supporting HB 1104.
Villarreal noted that Texas is one of only 10 states that places no restrictions on how much a person can give to political candidates. "We have created a system where a handful of wealthy, special interest donors make up a disproportionately large percentage of total political contributions," he said. These donors "have a clear advantage in the political process."
A study by Texans for Public Justice found that nearly half of all political contributions made in 2002 state elections came from fewer than 400 donors. In addition, the top 50 individual donors in the state gave $14.3 million, or 19 percent, of the $76.8 million contributed in 2002 by individual donors.
Villarreal said the bill is bipartisan and does not go after any particular interest group. But no Republican legislators were present at today's press conference and Villarreal acknowledged there are a number of GOP legislators targeted by big donors. Still, he said, HB 1104 is "a benefit to everyone" because it levels the playing field.
Strama said the bill should receive some support from Republican legislators. It was "a huge mistake" for Democratic legislators not to limit campaign contributions when they were the majority party in the early 1990s, he said.
"Special interest groups and a few super-rich individuals are using large contributions to shape the legislative process to achieve their own set of narrow goals," said the Austin legislator. "This bill will help ensure legislators shape policy to benefit all Texas citizens, not those with the deepest pockets."
Rep. Craig Eiland (D-Galveston) last week introduced a bill that puts limits on corporate contributions. HB 1104 "is a very important next step," said Strama. That fact that both bills have been filed indicates that the amount of money being donated in state campaigns has "reached a point where something has to be done," he said. HB 1104 simply says that an individual is allowed to get "$100,000 of good government," said Strama.
The $100,000 limit set in HB 1104 mirrors the national model, said the Austin legislator, which caps individual contributions at $90,000. The fact that a person currently can donate millions of dollars in a Texas election "distorts the system," he said.
Fred Lewis of Campaigns for People said more than 50 state organizations believe there should be some limit imposed on what a person can give to a single candidate. "A lot of people would be happy just to make $100,000," he said, noting that the median annual income in Texas is $25,000.
Lewis said most people have no idea that Texas puts no limit on individual contributions because there is so much attention to limits in national campaigns. "We need to prevent the undue influence from a few mega-donors," he said. "One hundred thousand dollars of speech is plenty to hear the voice of the ultra-rich. Mega donors need to stop hogging the microphone at the Capitol."
He added that courts have upheld limits on political contributions at the federal level, so there is "no question" about infringing on constitutional rights with HB 1104.