Lawmakers Sign New Pledge To Ban Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying

07/28/2025

Lawmakers Sign New Pledge To Ban Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying

By | Texas Scorecard | July 25, 2025

While Texas’ 30-day special legislative session is wrapping up its first week, a growing list of state lawmakers are announcing their commitment to banning taxpayer-funded lobbying—one of the 18 special session items.

State Rep. Briscoe Cain (R–Deer Park) was the first to announce his pledge, writing on X: “I just signed the pledge to support legislation stopping taxpayer-funded lobbying!”

Cain is not the only one to support the initiative. The Texas Public Policy Foundation reports that 22 other state representatives have signed this pledge thus far:

Daniel Alders, Benjamin Bumgarner, Caroline Harris Davila, Gary Gates, Richard Hayes, Hillary Hickland, Andy Hopper, Carrie Isaac, Helen Kerwin, Mitch Little, David Lowe, Shelley Luther, Brent Money, Matt Morgan, Mike Olcott, Katrina Pierson, Keresa Richardson, Nate Schatzline, Joanne Shofner, Ellen Troxclair, Cody Vasut, and Terri Leo Wilson.

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility President Andrew McVeigh told Texas Scorecard, “Banning taxpayer-funded lobbying is one of the most important issues facing taxpayers because of its central role in the growth of government and taxes in Texas … and we are excited to see nearly two dozen legislators sign this pledge already.”

In August 2023, Cain posted that “Texas is going to ban taxpayer funded lobbying in 2025,” to which House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock) replied on the following day, “Show me voting aye.”

However, the long-awaited ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying failed to advance to the floor of the Texas House, dying in the State Affairs Committee chaired by State Rep. Ken King (R–Canadian).

The Texas GOP has long expressed its opposition to taxpayer-funded lobbying, and it is currently one of the party’s legislative priorities.

Polling data from 2019 and 2021 shows that the majority of Texans across party lines support a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying.

Though the legislation failed in the regular session, Abbott has charged lawmakers to address it during the special session.

McKael Kirwin is a summer writing fellow interested in covering local politics and public policy. He is studying history at Patrick Henry College.