Texans for Public Justice

Austin—Nine hundred seventy four (974) political action committees (PACs) pumped $56 million into Texas political campaigns and causes from 1995 through 1997, according to a new study published by Texans for Public Justice. The study analyzes all general-purpose PACs registered with the Texas Ethics Commission classifying the PACs into 12 primary economic and ideological interest categories and 52 subcategories. The 60-page report, Texas PACs, is the first comprehensive roundup of all of the PACs in Texas.

"Texas PACs shines a spotlight on the private interests that pay for our public elections," said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice. "The report is a tool for citizens to cut through the maze of special-interest groups which dominate Texas politics."

Major findings of Texas PACs include:

• PACs directly affiliated with business interests accounted for 66% of all PAC money ($37.2 million). Ideological and single-issue PACs, which include political party committees, spent 29% of the total ($16 million) while labor PACs accounted for just 5% ($2.6 million).
• Half of all PAC expenditures came from just 36 of the largest PACs which spent more than $300,000 apiece.
• The largest single PAC was sponsored by the Texas Democratic Party ($4.1 million).
• The largest business-related PACs were the Texas Association of Realtors and Vinson & Elkins law firm, which both spent $1.4 million.
• The largest single-issue PACs were Texans for Lawsuit Reform ($1.3 million) and the A+ PAC for Parental School Choice ($452,306) which supports tax-financed vouchers for private schools.

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"Texas PACs connects the dots between campaign contributions and political agendas," said Andrew Wheat, research director of Texans for Public Justice. "With few exceptions, these PACs have a direct economic interest in the outcome of legislation or regulatory decisions. From tax breaks to decreased regulation to subsidies to protected markets, these PACs give to get special favors. And these favors are paid for out of the pockets of regular Texans."

The chart at the right represents the breakdown of PAC spending by the three major interest groups and highlights the fact that PACs representing particular business interests accounted for 66% of all PAC spending.

The chart below represents the further breakdown of spending by Texas PACs into twelve primary economic/ideological interest categories.

Copies of Texas PACs are available from Texans for Public Justice or at TPJ's website, http://www.tpj.org/reports/pacs/toc.html.