Earlier this year, it was revealed that local governments spent as much as $98.6 million in 2023 to hire contract lobbyists whose only job was to advocate for higher taxes, more spending, and bigger government. That level of expenditure is up from $75 million in 2021 and $41 million in 2017.

Of course, that nearly $100 million lobbying expense does not capture the full weight of taxpayer-funded lobbying (TFL) either, as it only relates to contract lobbying. Local governments also use tax dollars to lobby through other channels too, like hiring intergovernmental relation teams (aka, in-house lobbyists) and paying membership dues to politically-active groups that represent political subdivisions to the Legislature. These types of lobbying activities are more difficult to quantify given the sheer number of local governments that exist (there were 4,644 in 2023) and the dearth of lobbying information readily accessible for each one.

Still, what we know about local government lobbying has caught the eye of both an influential policymaker and a high-profile entrepreneur/investor—and they united recently to call on the Texas Legislature to finally ban TFL.

In a jointly-authored Fox News opinion piece published earlier this month, State Senator Mayes Middleton and American innovator Joe Lonsdale made known the danger:

“Your tax dollars are being used to lobby for divisive, left-wing causes. Progressive politicians backed by radicals like billionaire George Soros use hundreds of millions of dollars to try and force their agenda on the Texas legislature to kill common-sense policies and push the state left.

…

By continuing to allow public funds to flow into the hands of progressive special interests that undermine the very principles Texans hold dear, we risk eroding the constitutional foundations on which our state and nation were built. As part of this broader struggle, taxpayer-funded lobbying is the USAID of Texas, but the DOGE initiative — including SB19 — aims to defund this egregious waste.

By passing SB19, we will strengthen public trust and ensure tax dollars serve Texans’ real needs, not the interests of bureaucrats and their hired guns. This session, we hope you will join us in the call to finally ban taxpayer-funded lobbying once and for all. It is time to show the country that government of, by and for the people thrives here in the Lone Star State.” [emphasis mine]

These observations describe well both the problem and the solution.

The practice of TFL is being utilized by local governments to lobby state government for more government—and in a decidedly leftwing direction. It is tantamount to the weaponization of public money against the public interest, for the benefit of a select few. Fortunately, there is a way to stop TFL (bills like SB 19) and protect the constitutional order over the long-term.

What remains to be seen is whether the Texas Legislature understands the hazard that TFL presents and whether it is finally ready to put a stop to it. We’ll find out soon.