Public financing for judicial races

In addition to the other ethics and campaign finance reform bills that I mentioned previously, one other bill set to come up in committee hearings on Wednesday the 15th is HB3146 by Rep. Rafael Anchia, which would allow for the creation of a public financing system for certain judicial races in Texas. It’s only at the appeals court and higher (Supreme Court and CCA) levels, and it’s an option rather than a requirement, so it’s not quite the solution that I’d press for to deal with the issues of judges taking campaign cash from attorneys and other interested parties that regularly appear before them, but it’s light years better than the “solution” of non-partisan judicial elections being pushed by the likes of John Cornyn and Wallace Jefferson, since it actually has something to do with the problem at hand. If nothing else, I consider this to be a good start. Vigilant has information if you want to register your support for this bill in committee.

Related Posts:

• On judicial elections and campaign finance
• The money is the problem
• If you’re going to reform it, reform it right