Candidate Janagarajan signs pledge to end taxpayer-funded lobbying

Muni Janagarajan, a candidate for the Frisco school board, is among 53 elected officials candidates who have signed a pledge opposing the practice of using public funds to hire lobbyists, according to a blog post by Plano City Councilman Shelby Williams. 

Many local governments hire lobbyists at public expense to convince state lawmakers or other government agencies to take action in favor of certain legislation or against regulations or policies, according to critics of the practice. Local elected officials have funded lobbyists who pushed to keep a high level of property tax revenues flowing, Williams’ blog says.

Activities that are educational or informational are acceptable, but using tax funds to pay lobbyists to influence other levels of government goes against representative democracy, the blog says.

“We urge all Texans to help ban taxpayer-funded contract lobbying and encourage local elected officials and their staffs to directly represent Texans’ local interests before the Legislature,” the pledge says in part.

State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) has authored legislation to ban the use of public funds to hire government affairs lobbyists. Hall’s bill passed the Senate during the last legislative but died in the House of Representatives.

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Signatories to the Pledge to End Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying