DALLAS – On Thursday, the city of Dallas approved an amendment to the 2025-26 budget (Amendment #16) that eliminates a $339,000 appropriation for contract lobbying and redirects those monies to reducing the property tax rate by $0.015 per $100 of value.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) praised the Dallas City Council for its decision to move away from taxpayer-funded lobbying, which ultimately promotes higher taxes, more spending, and bigger government. Texas taxpayers were on the hook for as much as $98.6 million in contract lobbyist expenses in 2023.
“The city of Dallas has called time-out on taxpayer-funded lobbying,” says James Quintero, policy director for TPPF’s Taxpayer Protection Project. “Thanks to an amendment proposed by Mayor Johnson, the city of Dallas will stop spending $339,000 on contract lobbyists and instead return those funds back to taxpayers in the form of a lower property tax rate. This is a very encouraging development that other cities should mimic.”
Quintero continued: “No government needs a contract lobbyist, especially when almost every local elected official has a direct line of communication to their state elected representatives. It’s an unnecessary expense, it invites corruption and abuse, and it violates the public trust. The fact that Dallas leaders recognize these concerns and took action to stop funding the practice is worth celebrating.”
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