WHEREAS, the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) adopted as one of its Legislative Priorities for the 89th Legislature a demand to ban the use of taxpayer dollars by political subdivisions to fund lobbying, a practice that diverts public money away from essential services and toward influencing government against the will of taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, Governor Greg Abbott included the Ban on Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying in the official call for both special sessions of the 89th Legislature, reflecting its importance to the people of Texas and his executive agenda; and

WHEREAS, only the Governor may call a special session and set the agenda, and legislators may only act on issues designated by the Governor during a special session; and

WHEREAS, SB 13, filed and passed by the Texas Senate during the second special session, was engrossed without harmful amendments and represented a clean and complete version of the proposed lobbying ban; and

WHEREAS, the lobbying ban followed the “Resolution Condemning the Senate Amendment to SB 19 That Gutted the Ban on Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying and Commending the Senators Who Defended GOP Priorities” passed on March 22, 2025, which condemned the Texas Senate for gutting similar legislation during the Regular Session – a failure they have now corrected by honoring the Legislative Priority in full; and

WHEREAS, HB 186, from the second special session, an identical companion bill filed by Representative Mike Olcott, was co-sponsored by over 70 Republican members of the Texas House, demonstrating that the bill would have passed had it reached the floor; and

WHEREAS, despite this broad support and engrossment in the Senate, SB 13 was referred on August 20, 2025, to the Texas House State Affairs Committee, chaired by Representative Ken King, the bill was never given a hearing or vote in the House, resulting in its silent death before the Session’s conclusion; and

WHEREAS, only two Republican members of the State Affairs Committee – Representatives John McQueeney and Will Metcalf – demonstrated alignment with the 2024 Republican Party of Texas Platform and the Governor’s agenda by co-sponsoring HB 186; and

WHEREAS, the most recent obstruction marks the third consecutive failure to pass this RPT Legislative Priority – following identical stall tactics in the Regular and first special sessions – and represents a pattern of deliberate suppression of Republican grassroots priorities by Republican leadership; and

WHEREAS, Rule No. 44 of the RPT Rules allows for the censure of Republican elected officials who, on three or more demonstrable occasions in the current term, act in opposition to Republican Principles or Legislative Priorities; and

WHEREAS, Representative Ken King, as Chair of the State Affairs Committee, is personally responsible for this obstruction, and any Republican members of the Committee who failed to oppose or enabled this inaction share culpability; and

WHEREAS, taxpayer-funded lobbying organizations such as the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) and the Texas Municipal League (TML) have repeatedly worked to oppose multiple Republican Party of Texas Legislative Priorities, including property tax reform, election integrity, and parental rights in education; and

WHEREAS, the influence of taxpayer-funded lobbying organizations continues to drive up government spending and resist property tax reform, making the link between lobbying reform and property tax reduction both direct and urgent; and

WHEREAS, Speaker of the Texas House Dustin Burrows previously communicated his support for passing a bill to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying, and none of the bills that were filed in the most recent special sessions advanced through the House; now

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the State Republican Executive Committee condemns the actions of Representative Ken King, Chair of the Texas House State Affairs Committee, for his procedural obstruction of SB 13 during the second special session of the 89th Texas Legislature; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Republican Executive Committee urges Republican legislators to request a third special session to correct this failure; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Republican Executive Committee affirms that the inaction by Representative Ken King and any Republican collaborators constitutes a violation under RPT Rule No. 44 and qualifies as one of the three demonstrable offenses necessary for censure consideration; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Republican Executive Committee calls upon Governor Greg Abbott to immediately convene a third special session of the 89th Legislature and to include in the agenda:

  • Banning taxpayer-funded lobbying
  • Reducing or eliminating property taxes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Republican Executive Committee contends that taxpayer-funded lobbying organizations (such as TASB and TML) advocate spending policies that drive property taxes higher and also affirms that ending taxpayer-funded lobbying is essential to achieving meaningful property tax relief in Texas; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Republican Executive Committee calls upon Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows to honor his commitment and to work with Governor Abbott to ensure the quick passage of a meaningful ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying in a third special session without any gutting amendments.