This week Texas Secretary of State set the November ballot. The water fund amendment – Proposition 6 – will cook our state’s books and create a low visibility slush fund and the lobby effort to get it passed is kicking into gear.
In this gang the new PAC H2O4Texas is one of the lead characters providing “Vote yes on Prop 6” propaganda.
The group itself has been pushing for more spending for some time and has published a list of sponsors. Only its PAC is new.
Tarrant Regional Water District is a founding member of H2O4Texas and according to the Texas Ethics Commission the district employed Bryan Eppstein as their lobbyist during the 2013 session. Eppstein is a noted ruling class Republican lobbyist.
Another member organization is the North Texas Municipal Water District, which itself spent bookoo bucks lobbying the legislature in 2013. Their lobbyist was Lloyd Gosselink of Rochelle & Tonwsend P.C.
There are others in this gang. Check them out for yourself:
| H2O4Texas Sponsor | Type | Level of Sponsorship |
|---|---|---|
| Tarrant Regional Water District | Government | Founding |
| North Texas Municipal Water District | Government | Founding |
| Mitchell Foundation | Charity | Founding |
| H2O4Texas Sponsor | Type | Level of Sponsorship |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Citizens Council | Business Group | Platinum |
| Averitt & Associates | Lobbyist | Platinum |
| Focused Advocacy | Lobbyist | Platinum |
| Lloyd Gosselink | Lobbyist | Platinum |
| Txas Alliance of Water Providers | Business Group | Platinum |
| H2O4Texas Sponsor | Type | Level of Sponsorship |
|---|---|---|
| Public Service Messaging | Business | Special Thanks |
| Michael J. Nasi | Lawyer | Special Thanks |
| Joseph E. Park (Joey Park) | Lawyer | Special Thanks |
| Steve Bresnen | Lobbyist | Special Thanks |
| Glenn Shankle | Lobbyist | Special Thanks |
| Valdez Shilling | Lobbyist | Special Thanks |
| H2O4Texas Sponsor | Type | Level of Sponsorship |
|---|---|---|
| Alan Plulmmer Associates, Inc. | Business | Bronze |
| Annex Ventures | Business Group | Bronze |
| Aqua Water Supply | Government | Bronze |
| Baylor University | University | Bronze |
| BP | Business | Bronze |
| Cedar Park | Government | Bronze |
| CJ Parham Tredway Governmental Affairs Consulting | Lobbyist | Bronze |
| Clear Water Renewal | Business | Bronze |
| Dallas Regional Chamber | Business Group | Bronze |
| Ducks Unlimited | Environmentalist | Bronze |
| Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District | Government | Bronze |
| Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce | Business Group | Bronze |
| Greater Irving Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce | Business Group | Bronze |
| Gulf Coast Water Authority | Government | Bronze |
| John E. Burke & Associates LLC | Business | Bronze |
| Licensed Beverage Distributors | Business Group | Bronze |
| McElvaney Public Affairs | Lobbyist | Bronze |
| Metropolitian Water Company, L.P. | Business | Bronze |
| Metroport Cities Partnership | Government | Bronze |
| North Texas Commision | Business Group | Bronze |
| Patrick Miller Kropf Noto | Business | Bronze |
| Phillips 66 | Business | Bronze |
| State Bar Environmental Law Section | Business Group | Bronze |
| Texas A&M University | Government | Bronze |
| Texas Alliance of Energy Producers | Business Group | Bronze |
| Texas Chemical Council | Business Group | Bronze |
| Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association | Business Group | Bronze |
| Texas Pipeline Association | Business Group | Bronze |
| Texas Seed Trade Association | Business Group | Bronze |
| Texas State Association of Fire Fighters | Government | Bronze |
| The Beer Alliance of Texas | Business Group | Bronze |
| The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce | Business Group | Bronze |
| Trinity River Authoity of Texas | Government | Bronze |
| Xcel Energy | Business | Bronze |
| ACEC Texas | Business Group | Gold |
| American Electiric Power | Business | Gold |
| Austin Water | Government | Gold |
| Balanced Energy Texas | Interest Group | Gold |
| CH2MHILL | Business | Gold |
| City of Corpus Christi | Government | Gold |
| Dow Chemical | Business | Gold |
| El Paso Water Utilities | Government | Gold |
| Exxon Mobil | Business | Gold |
| NRG | Business | Gold |
| Shell | Business | Gold |
| SouthWest Water Company | Business | Gold |
| Texas Electric Cooperatives | Business | Gold |
| The Nature Conservancy | Environmentalist | Gold |
| The Rosewood Corporation | Business | Gold |
| TXOGA | Business Group | Gold |
| AECT | Business Group | Silver |
| CenterPoint Energy | Business | Silver |
| Central Harris County Regional Water Authority | Government | Silver |
| Chevron | Business | Silver |
| First Southwest (PlainsCapital) | Business | Silver |
| Freese and Nichols | Business | Silver |
| Independent Elecrical Contractors | Business Group | Silver |
| Jackson Walker L.L.P. | Business | Silver |
| Linn Energy | Business | Silver |
| Luminant | Business | Silver |
| Marathon Oil | Business | Silver |
| North Harris County Regional Water Authority | Government | Silver |
| Oncor | Business | Silver |
| Texas Association of Builders | Business Group | Silver |
| Texas Association of Realtors | Business Group | Silver |
| Texas Business Leadership Council | Business Group | Silver |
| Texas Conference of Urban Counties | Government | Silver |
| Texas Corn Producers | Business Group | Silver |
| Texas Municipal League | Government | Silver |
| Texas Rural Water Association | Government | Silver |
| Water Environment Association of Texas | Business Group | Silver |