Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton may have to disclose more information about his recent real estate buying spree, after state ethics regulators passed new transparency rules for elected officials.
During its Tuesday meeting, the Texas Ethics Commission adopted a rule that requires officials to disclose properties they hold in a blind trust if they have “actual knowledge” of the properties. If politicians have a rental property, they will also have to disclose the address and renter’s name. This information must be listed on the politician’s annual personal financial statement, an ethics form they file with the commission each spring.
The commission's members, who are appointed by state leaders, adopted the new rules without discussion.
The new rules come after The Texas Newsroom reported that Paxton did not disclose several properties owned by him or his blind trust in his 2023 or 2024 personal financial statements. On his 2023 form, Paxton wrote that the rules about rental income and property ownership “lack detail” and are “somewhat abstract.”
Paxton’s wife Angela, a state senator who is also a beneficiary of the blind trust, included the same note on her 2023 annual form.
Paxton or his blind trust own 10 properties across five states, according to public records The Texas Newsroom reviewed. One of them was disclosed in the property section of his last ethics form, filed in July.
Public records show Paxton owns three of the homes in his name, including a luxury cabin in Oklahoma and a townhome in Florida. Both appear to be available for rent. Paxton’s blind trust owns seven more properties, including two other Florida homes Paxton purchased under his name and then transferred to the trust and parcels of land in Hawaii and Utah.
County records show Angela Paxton has paid the taxes on the Utah land the last three years. Also, while the trust may be the named owner, Paxton’s home in McKinney is the mailing address listed on appraisal records for the land in Hawaii and three homes in Texas.
Six of these properties, all of them out of state, were purchased in the last three years. The Wall Street Journal first reported the buying spree in June 2023.
It’s unclear whether Paxton will now disclose more about these properties or his rental income in his next statement. He did not respond to questions about the new ethics rules.
Violating the rules could have serious consequences, including fines or criminal charges.
A commission spokesman did not answer questions about whether the new rules were passed in direct response to Paxton’s confusion or The Texas Newsroom’s reporting.
After its Tuesday meeting, the commissioners would also not say whether they were investigating Paxton. Chairman Randall H. Erben said he was aware of the reporting on the issue but could not say anything more because investigations must be kept secret.
“It’s publicly reported but we can’t discuss any enforcement action or the substance of it. So that’s the issue,” Erben told The Texas Newsroom. “I’m not trying to be evasive. I promise. I’d like to talk about it. I’d like to shout it from the mountaintops. I can’t do it.”
He added, “We are taking enforcement action against everyone we can and it won’t change until the process is completed.”
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