In his gubernatorial campaign, Greg Abbott suggested that if a candidate spends a sizable sudden contribution in the days before an election, the hopeful should be required to reveal that donation first.
"In the last few days before an election, candidates should not be allowed to expend any funds that have not already been disclosed to the public online," Abbott said.
Why the change? To allow voters to make more informed choices, he said.
Specifically, Abbott called for the law to bar candidates from spending contributions of over $5,000 made in the last 30 days before an election--until the donations are reported to the Texas Ethics Commission.
In the 2015 legislative session, however, no such mandate made it to Abbott for his consideration, the governor indicated in a document his office issued in June 2015, a few days after the session ended.
Separately to our inquiry, attorney Carol Birch of the Texas office of Public Citizen pointed out that a Fort Worth Republican, state Rep. Charlie Geren, introduced House Bill 1533, which would have carried out Abbott's promise. The measure won a hearing, legislative records show, before dying absent additional action.
We're marking this vow an Abbott PROMISE BROKEN.
Promise Broken – The promise has not been fulfilled. This could occur because of inaction by the executive or lack of support from the legislative branch or other group that was critical for the promise to be fulfilled. A Promise Broken rating does not necessarily mean that the executive failed to advocate for the policy.