V. Legislative Report Cards

A. Senate Report Cards
B. House Report Cards

Both chambers of the Texas Legislature got poor disclosure marks. Texas’ 31 Senators collectively earned a disclosure grade of 58 percent, falling just behind the 59 percent grade of the 150 members of the Texas House.

House and Senate Report Cards

		Value of Big Donations		No. of Big Donations
Chamber	No. of Lawmakers	Amount	Grade	Number	Grade
Senate	31	$5,607,651	F: 58%	4,504	F:60%
House	150	$11,418,118	F: 59%	9,950	D:54%
TOTALS:	181	$17,025,769	F: 58%	14,454	F: 56%

A. Senate Report Cards

The Senate as a whole flunked large-donor disclosure. Yet individual performances ranged from three senators who aced disclosure to three colleagues who routinely left blank the occupation and employer fields of every one of their large donors. Sens. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock), Rodney Ellis (D-Ellis) and Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) led the upper chamber. They fully reported better than 90 percent of the occupation and employer data on a total of 370 large contributions adding up to $454,000. Sen. Shapiro was the disclosure ace who raised the most large-donor cash ($231,150).

A’s To C’s:  Best Senate Grade

		Value of Big Donations		No. of Big Donations
Senator	Party	Amount	Grade	Number	Grade
Robert Duncan	R	$42,500	A     93.2%	45	96.1%
Rodney Ellis	D	$180,350	A     92.1%	139	87.9%
Florence Shapiro	R	$231,150	A     90.4%	186	86.3%
Chris Harris	R	$46,425	B     86.0%	35	78.6%
Steve Ogden	R	$135,600	B     84.1%	108	80.8%
Kip Averitt	R	$122,430	B     83.0%	135	77.8%
Troy Fraser	R	$41,000	B     82.9%	19	78.9%
Frank Madla	D	$138,100	B     81.9%	167	80.4%
Todd Staples	R	$404,757	B     81.2%	302	80.6%
Tommy Williams	R	$127,800	B     80.1%	96	74.2%
Jeff Wentworth	R	$243,500	C     79.7%	225	79.1%
Kel Seliger	R	$411,239	C     76.6%	405	74.8%
Mario Gallegos	D	$87,000	C     75.3%	71	75.7%

D’s:  Remedial Senate Grades

		Value of Big Donations		No. of Big Donations
Senator	Party	Amount	Grade	Number	Grade
Kim Brimer	R	$165,950	D     68.2%	123	74.6%
Jane Nelson	R	$170,300	D     67.0%	172	67.2%
Kyle Janek	R	$174,500	D     65.7%	190	70.0%
Kevin Eltife	R	$806,300	D     62.9%	439	59.7%
Robert Deuell	R	$196,203	D     61.1%	105	69.0%

The Senate’s weakest performances came from Sens. Jon Lindsay (R-Houston), Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) and Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo). These senators collectively reported a total of 306 large contributions totaling $412,150. Yet they left the occupation and employer field blank for every one of their large donors. Altogether 13 senators flunked disclosure, including two members of the Senate Government Organization Committee that unanimously approved this disclosure reform in 2003 (Sens. Armbrister and Whitmire).

F's:  Failing Senate Grades

		Value of Big Donations		No. of Big Donations
Senator	Party	Amount	Grade	Number	Grade
Jon Lindsay	R	$67,500	F      0.0%	56	0.0%
Eddie Lucio	D	$118,250	F      0.0%	114	0.0%
Judith Zaffirini	D	$226,400	F      0.0%	136	0.0%
*John Whitmire	D	$257,200	F       9.4%	181	8.1%
Gonzalo Barrientos	D	$23,500	F     10.1%	28	10.7%
Mike Jackson	R	$37,000	F     15.5%	33	17.4%
Chuy Hinojosa	D	$209,090	F     22.0%	162	25.3%
Eliot Shapleigh	D	$80,500	F     31.2%	84	38.4%
John Carona	R	$125,450	F     38.5%	111	41.9%
*Ken Armbrister	D	$193,850	F     46.7%	146	38.7%
Craig Estes	R	$262,072	F     50.1%	204	55.5%
Royce West	D	$178,086	F     52.6%	172	55.7%
Leticia Van de Putte	D	$103,650	F     54.2%	115	55.2%

*Sat on the Government Organization Committee that approved this disclosure reform in 2003.

B. House Report Cards

The 150 members of the Texas House collectively flunked large-donor disclosure. Yet the performances of individual members ranged from one perfect score to 28 members who left the occupation and employer fields blank for all of their large donors.

Rep. Joseph Deshotel (D-Beaumont) won the legislature’s only perfect score, fully disclosing information on his sole large donor. Seven other House members aced disclosure. These aces included Reps. Ken Paxton (R-McKinney) and Richard Raymond (D-Laredo), who made the A-team despite having raised more than $100,000 apiece in large contributions.

A's: Best House Grades

		Value of Big Donations		No. of Big Donations
House Member	Party	Amount	Grade	Number	Grade
Joseph Deshotel	D	$1,000	A    100.0%	1	100.0%
Betty Brown	R	$17,672	A      96.5%	22	94.3%
Bill Callegari	R	$33,250	A      95.9%	40	95.6%
Ken Paxton	R	$112,250	A      94.1%	94	88.6%
Larry Phillips	R	$7,500	A      93.3%	10	97.5%
Richard Noriega	D	$22,000	A      92.0%	35	95.7%
Hubert Vo	D	$83,808	A      90.7%	72	88.9%
Richard Raymond	D	$123,400	A      90.5%	99	86.6%

B's: Good House Grades

		Value of Big Donations		No. of Big Donations
House Member	Party	Amount	Grade	Number	Grade
Mark Strama	D	$290,631	B      88.7%	233	81.5%
Mike Krusee	R	$68,434	B      88.6%	72	84.0%
Scott Hochberg	D	$61,026	B      87.3%	60	77.1%
Phil King	R	$130,675	B      87.0%	114	89.3%
Pat Haggerty	R	$37,250	B      86.6%	53	84.9%
Martha Wong	R	$244,542	B      86.4%	267	85.6%
Larry Taylor	R	$25,325	B      85.7%	38	85.5%
Stephen Frost	D	$94,000	B      84.7%	66	85.6%
Scott Campbell	R	$29,283	B      84.6%	29	76.7%
Jim Jackson	R	$34,946	B      84.6%	36	73.6%
Bill Zedler	R	$30,650	B      83.7%	27	72.2%
Joe Nixon	R	$382,300	B      83.6%	229	75.8%
Burt Solomons	R	$99,950	B      82.6%	81	77.5%
Jim Pitts	R	$169,664	B      81.9%	170	79.1%
Tommy Merritt	R	$99,885	B      80.8%	105	77.9%
Bryan Hughes	R	$163,125	B      80.4%	84	68.5%
David Farabee	D	$48,025	B      80.3%	77	77.9%

C's: Acceptable House Grades

		Value of Big Donations		No. of Big Donations
House Member	Party	Amount	Grade	Number	Grade
Joe Crabb	R	$8,250	C      79.6%	9	83.3%
Robert Talton	R	$52,750	C      78.7%	67	76.1%
Jim Dunnam	D	$74,600	C      77.8%	69	76.1%
Todd Smith	R	$9,000	C      77.8%	15	80.0%
Leo Berman	R	$33,500	C      77.2%	46	75.5%
David Swinford	R	$36,573	C      76.8%	31	65.3%
Spkr. Tom Craddick	R	$835,752	C      74.9%	371	80.8%
Trey Martinez	D	$42,734	C      74.8%	54	73.6%
Allan Ritter	D	$151,750	C      74.7%	123	65.9%
Brian McCall	R	$88,000	C      73.9%	85	71.2%
Elliott Naishtat	D	$10,000	C      73.8%	16	71.9%
Ryan Guillen	D	$22,000	C      72.2%	22	70.5%
Bob Griggs	R	$11,731	C      71.8%	14	71.4%
Tony Goolsby	R	$69,008	C      71.4%	53	58.5%
Joe Pickett	D	$19,500	C      70.5%	32	68.8%
Lon Burnam	D	$49,672	C      70.1%	67	65.3%

D's: Remedial House Grades

		Value of Big Donations		No. of Big Donations
House Member	Party	Amount	Grade	Number	Grade
Wayne Smith	R	$71,250	D      69.8%	102	72.5%
Rene Oliveira	D	$13,000	D      69.2%	13	80.8%
Sid Miller	R	$52,000	D      67.8%	44	48.9%
Jim McReynolds	D	$68,500	D      67.7%	69	51.8%
Aaron Pena	D	$26,995	D      67.5%	33	68.2%
Pete Laney	D	$21,500	D      67.4%	34	72.1%
Carter Casteel	R	$28,188	D      66.9%	42	78.6%
Marc Veasey	D	$63,503	D      66.6%	76	51.3%
Abel Herrero	D	$236,071	D      66.4%	138	67.9%
Helen Giddings	D	$32,000	D      65.2%	44	61.4%
Dennis Bonnen	R	$71,475	D      64.6%	73	55.5%
Delwin Jones	R	$31,355	D      64.5%	51	62.3%
Chuck Hopson	D	$57,885	D      64.2%	88	60.8%
Toby Goodman	R	$24,750	D      64.1%	38	59.9%
Todd Baxter	R	$189,800	D      64.0%	142	51.9%
John Smithee	R	$4,000	D      62.5%	6	58.3%
Charlie Geren	R	$109,250	D      62.1%	116	58.6%
Elizabeth Jones	R	$644,175	D      61.9%	347	53.8%
Patrick Rose	D	$1,415,216	D      61.9%	954	65.1%
Gene Seaman	R	$90,350	D      61.6%	124	61.3%

Rep. Patrick Rose (D-Dripping Springs), who reported the biggest pile of large-contribution money ($1.4 million), got a poor disclosure grade of 62 percent. Sen. Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler) similarly scored 63 percent after raising the most big-contribution money in his chamber ($806,300).

An extraordinary 28 members of the House (19 percent) not only flunked disclosure but left the occupation and employer fields blank for every one of their large donors. Three members accomplished this feat while raising more than $100,000 apiece in large contributions. They are Reps. Kino Flores (D-Palmview), Veronica Gonzales (D-McAllen) and Sylvester Turner (D-Houston).

House Zeroes: Left All Occupation & Employer Fields Blank

		Value of Big Donations		No. of Big Donations
House Member	Party	Amount	Grade	Number	Grade
Roberto Alonzo	D	$17,000	F     0.0%	5	0.0%
Rafael Anchia	D	$61,008	F     0.0%	73	0.0%
Dwayne Bohac	R	$75,000	F     0.0%	85	0.0%
Fred Brown	R	$13,500	F     0.0%	16	0.0%
Norma Chavez	D	$51,650	F     0.0%	57	0.0%
John Davis	R	$31,800	F     0.0%	41	0.0%
Glenda Dawson	R	$10,050	F     0.0%	16	0.0%
Harold Dutton, Jr.	D	$31,289	F     0.0%	41	0.0%
Craig Eiland	D	$32,000	F     0.0%	29	0.0%
Jessica Farrar	D	$13,500	F     0.0%	19	0.0%
Kino Flores	D	$110,100	F     0.0%	113	0.0%
Veronica Gonzales	D	$104,700	F     0.0%	129	0.0%
Terri Hodge	D	$17,000	F     0.0%	27	0.0%
Fred Hill	R	$5,250	F     0.0%	8	0.0%
Charlie Howard	R	$55,832	F     0.0%	27	0.0%
Suzanna Hupp	R	$13,000	F     0.0%	19	0.0%
Jesse Jones	D	$7,500	F     0.0%	12	0.0%
Anna Mowery	R	$3,000	F     0.0%	5	0.0%
Chente Quintanilla	D	$25,800	F     0.0%	48	0.0%
Elvira Reyna	R	$26,500	F     0.0%	10	0.0%
Debbie Riddle	R	$19,000	F     0.0%	20	0.0%
Eddie Rodriquez	D	$5,000	F     0.0%	9	0.0%
Jose Menendez	D	$33,040	F     0.0%	50	0.0%
Paul Moreno	D	$22,700	F     0.0%	16	0.0%
Jim Solis	D	$4,000	F     0.0%	5	0.0%
Senfronia Thompson	D	$24,250	F     0.0%	25	0.0%
Sylvester Turner	D	$102,750	F     0.0%	91	0.0%
Buddy West	R	$75,050	F     0.0%	96	0.0%

Finally, 61 House members flunked disclosure after providing very limited occupation and employer information on large donors. When these members are combined with those who left all of these fields blank, 80 House members—59 percent—flunked disclosure law. These failures include every member of the House Select Ethics Committee that approved this reform, except committee chair and reform author Steve Wolens, who retired from the legislature thereafter. The members who flunked their own committee’s reform are Reps. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin), Mary Denny (R-Aubrey), Pete Gallego (D-Alpine), Ruben Hope (R-Conroe), Carl Isett (R-Lubbock) and Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham). Almost half of the House’s members got a disclosure grade of less than 50 percent.

F's: Other Failing Grades

		Value of Big Donations		No. of Big Donations
House Member	Party	Amount	Grade	Number	Grade
Yvonne Davis	D	$71,250	F        1.4%	76	2.0%
Al Edwards	D	$16,190	F        3.1%	16	6.3%
Jerry Madden	R	$25,000	F        4.0%	34	5.9%
Rob Eissler	R	$41,770	F        6.9%	64	7.0%
Mark Homer	D	$188,188	F        7.8%	47	43.1%
Robby Cook	D	$23,000	F        8.7%	34	6.6%
*Ruben Hope	R	$14,350	F      12.2%	21	9.5%
Ruth McClendon	D	$35,000	F      13.9%	44	17.0%
Harvery Hilderbran	R	$111,550	F      15.3%	114	18.0%
Will Hartnett	R	$13,500	F      16.7%	14	23.2%
Joe Moreno	D	$7,500	F      16.7%	9	27.8%
Joe Driver	R	$41,400	F      17.5%	37	17.6%
Dan Gattis	R	$37,882	F      18.8%	49	19.9%
Rick Hardcastle	R	$12,500	F      19.0%	10	20.0%
Warren Chisum	R	$18,950	F      20.8%	20	25.0%
Myra Crownover	R	$12,500	F      21.5%	22	21.6%
Vilma Luna	D	$30,000	F      22.9%	35	22.1%
David Leibowitz	D	$42,075	F      25.0%	31	32.3%
Yvonne Toureilles	D	$61,360	F      26.4%	64	23.4%
Carlos Uresti	D	$33,171	F      27.5%	37	15.5%
Garnet Coleman	D	$71,609	F      30.3%	95	29.5%
Edmund Kuempel	R	$35,639	F      31.4%	45	28.9%
Charles Anderson	R	$85,948	F      31.8%	66	28.8%
Frank Corte, Jr.	R	$11,750	F      34.0%	15	25.0%
Tracy King	D	$75,750	F      34.6%	76	40.8%
Alma Allen	D	$47,500	F      34.7%	30	40.0%
Kevin Bailey	D	$18,000	F      34.7%	16	40.6%
Gary Elkins	R	$12,750	F      36.3%	11	29.5%
*Dawnna Dukes	D	$15,500	F      37.1%	21	31.0%
James Keffer	R	$70,900	F      38.5%	63	48.0%
Juan Escobar	D	$18,200	F      39.0%	18	33.3%
Armando Martinez	D	$32,250	F      42.6%	27	59.3%
Dan Flynn	R	$40,665	F      43.2%	42	43.5%
Bill Keffer	R	$18,750	F      43.3%	31	41.9%
Vicki Truitt	R	$125,918	F      43.6%	134	42.2%
*Mary Denny	R	$2,000	F      43.8%	4	43.8%
Dora Olivo	D	$2,500	F      45.0%	3	41.7%
Mike Villareal	D	$28,075	F      45.2%	40	41.9%
Bryon Cook	R	$30,125	F      45.8%	47	43.1%
Roy Blake, Jr.	R	$82,000	F      47.4%	82	48.5%
Bob Hunter	R	$47,500	F      49.2%	47	69.7%
*Carl Isett	R	$92,006	F      49.2%	125	46.2%
Linda Harper-Brown	R	$54,500	F      49.5%	50	63.5%
Diane Delisi	R	$40,900	F      49.6%	60	53.3%
Beverly Woolley	R	$22,500	F      50.0%	24	37.5%
Peggy Hamric	R	$88,533	F      50.3%	77	50.6%
Rob Orr	R	$80,500	F      50.6%	97	52.8%
*Lois Kolkhorst	R	$61,541	F      51.3%	75	54.7%
Mike Hamilton	R	$45,900	F      51.5%	55	52.7%
Robert Puente	D	$45,250	F      51.5%	60	53.3%
Geannie Morrison	R	$50,750	F      52.0%	59	54.7%
Corbin Van Arsdale	R	$28,500	F      53.5%	36	56.9%
Jodie Laubenberg	R	$74,300	F      55.8%	64	59.4%
Glenn Hegar	R	$67,750	F      56.1%	63	57.9%
Terry Keel	R	$59,095	F      56.9%	44	57.4%
John Otto	R	$21,000	F      57.1%	15	45.0%
Joaquin Castro	D	$3,000	F      58.3%	5	60.0%
Ray Allen	R	$93,144	F      58.6%	77	57.1%
Kent Grusendorf	R	$58,499	F      58.8%	67	60.8%
*Pete Gallego	D	$67,484	F      59.1%	53	53.3%
Dan Branch	R	$484,560	F      59.7%	339	53.8%

*Sat on the House Select Ethics Committee that approved this disclosure reform in 2003.