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While the number of political action committees
(PACs) active in Texas declined slightly over the past two election cycles,
the total amount of political expenditures made by Texas PACs increased
sharply. In the 1998 election cycle, 891 general purpose PACs spent $52
million. This marks a 20 percent increase over the $43 million spent by
910 such PACs in the 1996 cycle.
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The 50 largest PACs, which spent a total of
$32.3 million, accounted for 63 percent of all PAC expenditures; the 100
largest PACs spent $39.1 million, or 76 percent of all PAC expenditures.
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Business PACs spent 61 percent of 1998 cycle
PAC money ($31.5 million), Ideological and Single-Issue PACs spent 35 percent
($17.7 million) and Labor PACs spent 4 percent ($2.3 million).
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The Texas Democratic Party ran the biggest
PAC ($6.1 million), far outspending the $3.3 million spent by the No. 2-ranked
Texas Republican Campaign Committee. This apparent partisan advantage vanishes
further down the food chain. Fifty Democratic PACs spent $7.7 million,
compared with the $7.3 million spent by 128 GOP PACs.
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The largest Single-Issue PACs were Texans
for Lawsuit Reform ($1.2 million) and the Texas Civil Justice League ($356,331),
which advocate weaker tort laws.
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The largest Business PACs were the Vinson
& Elkins Texas PAC ($1.2 million) and the Texas Association of Realtors
($1.1 million).
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The Texas State Teachers Association ran the
biggest Labor PAC, spending $432,004.
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