Energy industry showers Gov. Greg Abbott, other Texas politicians with campaign cash after they pass

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Greg and the GOP did next to nothing to fix the issues that cause the Feb. power failure that killed several hundred Texans. Greg is owned by the power companies

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But by the end of the legislative session, if Texas’ top power companies were aggrieved by the way they were treated by the Legislature or any of the new laws passed targeting their industry, they didn’t show it.

Texas elected officials can’t receive campaign donations during the session, but after it ended in May, they were showered in cash by the energy industry — even more than usual for a group known for its deep pockets and generous campaign giving.

From June 21 to June 30, after the legislative fundraising blackout ended, five of the largest and most prominent companies in the Texas power grid supply chain — Calpine, Centerpoint, NRG Energy, Oncor and Vistra — or their top executives collectively donated about $497,000 to state elected officials and political groups. That's more than twice the $207,000 they gave during the same period when the legislative session ended in in 2019, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. A large chunk of that cash was driven by Oncor, Texas’ largest transmission and distribution electric company, with many big donations coming from the company's executives......

Over that same short stretch in June, 11 prominent oil industry leaders, including billionaires Kelcy Warren, S. Javaid Anwar and Douglas Scharbauer — all three whom could not be reached for comment — combined to contribute about $3.2 million to Texas elected officials, up from about $2.2 million over the same period following the previous legislative session in 2019. Warren's company Energy Transfer declined to comment on his behalf.

For some energy experts, the increase in donations for the officials at the close of the session looks like a reward for not passing more stringent regulations and raises questions about whether lawmakers let the oil, gas and the broader energy industry off easy for its massive failures.

[SheltieLover]

1. K&R!

[monkeyman1]

2. look's like Texas might think about buying a whole bunch of winter gear !!

going to be a very long winter ! -- p.s.- get a damn generator ! you'll need it !

[DFW]

3. Texas Republicans never shied away from corruption

It is in their DNA. We haven't had a decent person in the governor's mansion since Ann Richards.

[BadgerMom]

4. Is there a point at which this behavior can be called criminal?

IANAL

[Celerity]

6. Nope. It is business as usual in the American kleptocracy.

[modrepub]

5. Always Interesting

that politicians can be swayed to an "opinion" using an amount of money that's actually quite small.

In reality, it's the "talking point" development and dissemination that costs the most. Maintaining think tanks, AM ratio bombardment and supporting columnist/newspapers costs much more.