Earlier this week Texans for Public Justice released a report (Texas Revolvers) tracking 110 1997 revolving-door lobbyists, including 91 ex-legislators.
Four ex-Democratic House members who did not seek re-election last November are now registered lobbyists: Hugo Berlanga (Corpus), Keith Oakley (Terrell), Allen Place (Gatesville) and Gerard Torres (Houston).
| Ex-Lege Revolver | Max. '99 Value | Clients | Hometown |
| Hugo Berlanga | $625,000 | 8 | Corpus Christi |
| Keith Oakley | $135,000 | 3 | Terrell |
| Allen Place | $125,000 | 3 | Gatesville |
| Gerard Torres | $50,000 | 1 | Houston |
| Total | $935,000 | 15 |
These ex-legislators¾who received a $7,200 salary in the House¾report one hell of a personal stock pop in their initial private offering (IPO) of themselves to special-interest clients.
Together, they reported a combined 1999 lobby income of up to $935,000.
This income was unevenly distributed, ranging
from the up to $625,000 that Berlanga reported from eight clients, to a
maximum of $50,000 that Torres reported from a single source: utility Houston
Industries.
| '99 Clients | Max. Value |
| AT&T | $100,000 |
| City of Austin | $100,000 |
| City of Corpus Christi | $100,000 |
| Driscoll Children's Hospital | $100,000 |
| DuPont Pharmaceuticals | $100,000 |
| Sagem Morpho | $50,000 |
| Waste Control Specialists | $50,000 |
| Advanced Practice Nurses | $25,000 |
| Total | $625,000 |
The new lobbyists' clients frequently reflect
their former committee assignments. Ex-Public Health Committee Chair Hugo
Berlanga's new clients include such health-related interests as Driscoll
Children's Hospital, DuPont Pharmaceuticals and the Coalition for Advanced
Practice Nurses. (Client Sagem Morpho is a company with a Texas Department
of Human Services contract to detect welfare fraud with a digital fingerprinting
system).
| '99 Clients | Max. Value |
| TX Utilities Services | $100,000 |
| Assoc. Security Services | $25,000 |
| TX Assoc. of Mid-Sized Schools | $10,000 |
| Total | $135,000 |
Ex-Public Safety Committee Chair Keith
Oakley represents the Associated Security Services and Investigators. The
Criminal Defense Lawyers Assoc. hired ex-Criminal Jurisprudence Chair Allen
Place. Finally, a utility hired ex-Energy Resources Vice Chair Gerard Torres.
| '99 Clients | Max. Value |
| TX Criminal Def. Lawyers Assoc. | $50,000 |
| TX Municipal League | $50,000 |
| City of Katy | $25,000 |
| Total | $125,000 |
Another leading revolving-door new-comer did not serve in the Legislature, though Texas Revolvers identified his new boss as the highest-billing ex-legislator in the 1997 lobby.
In 1998, revolver Neal "Buddy" Jones hired then-Natural Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC) Executive Director Dan Pearson. This was a coup for Jones, whose top 1997 client was Garwood Irrigation. In 1998, TNRCC Commissioners approved a controversial $16 million Garwood "inter-basin transfer" request to funnel 11 billion gallons of water rights from the Colorado River to Corpus Christi .
TNRCC staff developed their recommendation to support the deal under Pearson, who left the agency to join Jones three months before the Commissioners approved the deal in October 1998. With the deal floated past the TNRCC, Jones' 1999 Garwood contract dropped from a maximum of $200,000 in 1997 to a maximum of $10,000 in 1999.
As the 1999 session heats up, more new revolver faces are expected to resurface in the lobby. Stay tuned.