Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway pled guilty to federal corruption charges last Thursday and has resigned from City Council.

Caraway admitted to accepting $450,000 in bribes and kickbacks from two figures in a scandal last year that brought down a school bus agency named Dallas County Schools.

City Attorney Larry Casto told City Council a special election must be added to the November 6 election to fill the vacancy.

Gov. Greg Abbott set the special election for House District 52 for November 6, 2018, the same day as the general election.

The seat was vacated by Larry Gonzales, who decided to retire early after previously announcing he would not seek another term.

House District 52 contains parts of Williamson County.

This month, the San Antonio City Council approved substantial changes to the campaign finance and ethics codes.

The new ordinance requires additional campaign finance reports and disclosure of the name and title of anyone contributing $100 or more to a council member or mayoral campaign.

In the same council meeting, an ordinance increasing campaign contribution limits by 50% did not pass as a result of a tied vote.

The new disclosure and reporting rules will go into effect starting on July 1, the beginning of the next campaign cycle.

The passed changes are not yet available online but are anticipated by the City Clerk to be available this week.

Gov. Greg Abbott called a special election this week to fill a vacancy after the surprise resignation of state senator Carlos Uresti.

Uresti, a democrat representing Texas Senate District 19, was convicted on 11 felony counts of fraud and money laundering earlier this year but refused to resign until the appeals process was complete.

Uresti urged the governor to hold the election in November to coincide with the regularly scheduled election to save taxpayer money but Gov. Abbott scheduled the emergency special election for July 31, 2018, noting Uresti’s district has been “without effective representation” for over a year as a result of legal troubles.

Pictured: Former state senator Carlos Uresti

Gov. Greg Abbott called a special election this week to replace U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold. Farenthold resigned his seat in congress this month after an ethics investigation stemming from a 2014 sexual harassment allegation.

The special election will take place on June 30, 2018, and a runoff election is anticipated to be held this fall.

Gov. Abbott sent Farenthold a letter this week requesting he pay for the cost of the special election since he has not reimbursed the $84,000 of taxpayer money he used to settle the sexual harassment claim.

The letter asked for a response to the request by May 2.

U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold resigned his seat in congress last week following a string of ethics investigations stemming from a 2014 sexual harassment allegation.

Farenthold, under fire for using $84,000 of taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim, announced his retirement in December, but said he planned to serve out the remainder of his term ending in January of 2019.

Gov. Greg Abbott is tasked with calling a special election to fill the seat for the remainder of the year. Gov. Abbott can schedule the special election on the state’s next uniform election date on November 6, or can order an emergency election on any other Tuesday or Saturday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on February 16 that a special election will take place for House District 13 on May 5 to replace state Rep. Leighton Schubert.

Schubert resigned on February 4 to do legal work for Blinn College.

Early voting for this election will begin on April 23.

Pictured: Former Rep. Leighton Schubert

Lobbyists in Austin have agreed to cooperate with the city and disclose how much clients pay them. Taking a lead from state and federal filing requirements, Austin began requiring lobbyists to report what they are paid last year.

Seventeen lobbyists registered with the city, all lawyers, asserted attorney-client privilege prohibited them from the disclosure. The city’s Ethics Review Commission was scheduled to hear ethics complaints filed against the group, but all 17 amended their reports to add the missing information.

A lobbyist who originally refused to disclose his compensation said the City Clerk accepted the form without the information and there is even space provided for an explanation as to why the compensation information was not disclosed.

Austin’s actions this week have set an example for enforcing the reporting requirements moving forward.

On Tuesday, Texans voted to loosen some home lending regulations in place since the foreclosure crisis.

By a two-thirds margin, the ballot measure expanding who can make a home equity loan and allowing homeowners to convert home equity loans into conventional mortgage loans was approved.

The measure was widely opposed by fair housing advocates and supported by lenders and the real estate industry. This is the second time in the last five years Texans have voted in favor of more relaxed lending laws.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, voters overwhelmingly approved a $1.05 billion bond package focused on repairing the city’s infrastructure and recreational amenities.

On Tuesday, Texans voted to loosen some home lending regulations in place since the foreclosure crisis.

By a two-thirds margin, the ballot measure expanding who can make a home equity loan and allowing homeowners to convert home equity loans into conventional mortgage loans was approved.

The measure was widely opposed by fair housing advocates and supported by lenders and the real estate industry. This is the second time in the last five years Texans have voted in favor of more relaxed lending laws.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, voters overwhelmingly approved a $1.05 billion bond package focused on repairing the city’s infrastructure and recreational amenities.

The Austin Financial Services Department is proposing drastic changes to the city’s anti-lobbying and procurement ordinance.

The proposed changes shorten the no contact period during a bid solicitation and allow the purchasing officer to consider mitigating factors when determining if a violation has occurred. The recommendations also abbreviate, clarify, and consolidate what communications and representations are permitted and prohibited during the solicitation process.

Comments and suggestions for additional proposed changes are still being accepted.

This comes after city council voted to suspend the anti-lobbying and procurement ordinance for individuals seeking waste management contracts after they struggled to find and agree upon suitable contractors.

City Council met this week to discuss the proposed changes and postponed taking action until November 9, 2017.

Recommendations by the city’s Ethics Review Board are on their way to be reviewed by the full City Council after the Council’s Governance Committee, chaired by Mayor Ron Nirenberg, reviewed the proposed changes Wednesday.

Mayor Nirenberg stated the recommendations are a good launching pad for more comprehensive ethics reforms in the future.

The campaign finance and ethics code recommendations include changes to the process of handling and identifying ethics violations, and tighter rules regarding campaign contributions from contractors and sub-contractors seeking city contracts as well as zoning applicants and their lobbyists.

City Council is expected to review the reform package in the coming months.

Photo of San Antonio City Hall by RYAN LOYD / TPR NEWS

After review and finalization, a package of campaign finance code revisions is going to the City Council Governance Committee for approval.

Proposed revisions include language creating a blackout period for owners or top executives of primary bidders on city contracts making contributions to a council campaign within a certain time frame when the contract is out to bid.

Some members of the Ethics Board fear tighter campaign finance laws will decrease political activity and lead to political problems and controversy while others are happy to see steps taken towards transparency.

The committee will meet Sept. 20 to review the proposed changes completed by the City’s Ethics Review Board this week.

The Texas Legislature ended its special legislative session abruptly Tuesday night without a resolution on Gov. Greg Abbott’s top priority of property tax reform.

The House adjourned earlier in the day leaving the Senate to accept their version of the property tax reform bill or not pass one. The Senate did not accept the House version and the session ended without fanfare.

Some Senators are calling for Gov. Abbott to call a second special session solely for the issue.

About half of the session’s 20-item agenda was accomplished, including the passage of several sunset bills.