The Texas Senate is patting itself on the back for passing SB 19 by Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), a bill they claim “closes the loophole” on fundraising during special sessions. But if you read the bill, it’s a half-measure that looks good in the headlines while protecting incumbents back home.
Here’s what the law really does:
Current law already bans lawmakers from raising money during regular session — from 30 days before until 20 days after adjournment. They can’t accept contributions, and if one arrives in the mail, they must return it.
SB 19 extends that ban to cover some special sessions — but only those that happen before September 1 in an odd-numbered year, right after the regular session ends.
That means the “summer specials” — the ones where the governor often calls lawmakers back to Austin for high-stakes fights or unfinished business — are now covered by the same fundraising blackout.
Sounds good, right? But here’s the catch: If a special session is called after September 1 or in an even-numbered year, lawmakers are still free to raise money while they legislate.
Why you ask? Consider this. Election season in Texas typically kicks off in September of odd-numbered years, right after the regular session dust settles. That’s when incumbents start dialing for dollars, building war chests, and staking out ground for the upcoming March primaries. Neither legislators nor the governor want to hamstring their own fundraising during this critical window. That’s why SB 19 stops the blackout on September 1 — not because ethics magically matter less after Labor Day, but because the political class refuses to tie its own hands during campaign season.
There’s no irony lost on the fact that the loudest cheerleader for SB 19 is Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick himself — the same man who accepted a $3 million donation from a pro-Paxton group in the middle of the 2023 Paxton impeachment trial. For Patrick to suddenly champion new “fundraising restrictions” isn’t about cleaning up politics; it’s about deflecting from his own record and painting Democrats as the problem. That’s not ethics reform — that’s political theater.
SB 19 is not about full transparency. It is only about optics. Lawmakers want to claim they have “fixed” the problem without tying their own hands when it matters most for their reelection accounts.
The real problem is legislators taking money while they’re in the middle of lawmaking. SB 19 doesn’t fix that. Instead, it carves out a partisan rule meant to punish political opponents for raising money during a redistricting quorum break and other high-stakes legislative battles, while protecting their ability to keep their own fundraising on track. That’s not reform — that’s a political stunt. Texans know better.
About the author
Suzanne Bellsnyder is editor and publisher of the Hansford County Reporter-Statesman and Sherman County Gazette. A former Capitol staffer with decades of experience in Texas politics and policy, she now focuses on how state decisions shape rural life through her newspapers and the Texas Rural Reporter. You can subscribe to the newsletter at www.TexasRuralReporter.Substack.com.