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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas A Watson who wrote (713964)	11/18/2005 11:40:36 AM
From: Mr. Palau	Respond to of 769670

" Texas GOP Reaches Deal on Donations By KELLEY SHANNON, Associated Press WriterThu Nov 17, 6:33 PM ET The Texas Republican Party agreed Thursday to stop spending corporate donations as it sometimes did during 2002 state campaigns, and prosecutors agreed not to pursue charges under state election laws. Among other things, the party said it would stop using such money for political consulting, issue advertising and get-out-the-vote activity such as telephone banking. Such spending may have violated the Texas Election Code, said Travis County Attorney David Escamilla. State law bans use of corporate or union money directly for campaigns, allowing it only for administrative expenses. The agreement came during an investigation into how the GOP spent $5.7 million in corporate money that is similar to a probe by District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who has brought charges against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and associates connected to corporate money in the 2002 state legislative races. In all, the Republican Party and affiliated organizations spent some $10 million in corporate cash for that campaign cycle, according to the watchdog groups Public Citizen, Common Cause and Texans for Public Justice. "What we've seen in Texas is a $10 million corporate takeover of Texas politics," said Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of Public Citizen in Texas. The watchdog groups filed a complaint with the county attorney in 2004 asking that he investigate how the Texas GOP spent corporate money. GOP spokeswoman Jennifer Webster said the agreement will help avoid a drawn-out court battle over a "vague" law. Republicans hope to clarify that law in a coming legislative session. Party officials said in a statement that the GOP was voluntarily cooperating with the county attorney but insisted the party's practices were "appropriate, ethical and could withstand the scrutiny of an investigation." Both Escamilla and the GOP statement said there was a dispute between the two over the definition of administrative expenses in the election code. That issue also is at the heart of arguments between attorneys in civil and criminal cases connected to the spending in 2002 to get Republicans elected to the Texas Legislature. DeLay's political committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, and others spent millions of dollars with the aim of getting Republican candidates elected to the Texas House. The GOP won enough seats to take control of the House and elect the first Republican speaker in 130 years. In the months that followed, DeLay successfully pressed in the Legislature for a new congressional redistricting map that ultimately sent more Texas Republicans to Congress. If the Republican Party of Texas complies with the agreement, the county attorney will not prosecute it over 2002 corporate spending. But if the party violates the agreement between now and March 31, 2007, Escamilla's office retains the authority to file criminal actions for at least three election code violations, he said. The agreement "looks beyond partisan politics and serves the interests of the public," Escamilla said in a statement. Under the agreement, the GOP acknowledged using corporate money in the amount of $12,199 for postage to send a voter-registration mailer; $49,600 to pay for a voter-registration/get-out-the-vote mailer; and $3,706 for a political consulting fee. Among the sources of the corporate money were health care, energy and seafood companies and a beer distributorship, the watchdog groups said. The Republican Party's agreement also calls for it to file state-required expenditure reports electronically and to send its executive director and the person who oversees its accounting to educational training classes on state election law.