Did Travis County Mailers Break Election Laws?

May 16--Two taxpayer-funded postcards might have broken state law by encouraging Travis County voters to approve a sales tax on the May 10 ballot, a complaint filed last week with the Texas Ethics Commission said.

Travis County Emergency Services District No. 2 sent a series of mailers to nearly 9,000 households just outside of Pflugerville about its half-cent sales tax proposition, which ended up passing by just six votes.

Lawrence Shellaby, a Travis County resident who filed the complaint, wrote that two of the three mailers constituted an illegal use of public funds because they advocated for passage of the proposition rather than providing factual information.

An election law expert consulted by the American-Statesman agreed and called the mailers the most "blatant" violation of state law he'd seen in a long time.

"There's not even any doubt about this. This is not even arguable," said Buck Wood, who used to direct the Texas Secretary of State's elections division. "I don't think anybody would claim this is legal."

John Carlton, general counsel for the emergency services district, said the mailers were meant to inform voters of how the tax revenue would be used.

"I don't believe any of the materials put out by the district encourage voters to vote one way or another," Carlton said. He said the district researched election law and reviewed the postcards to make sure they were in compliance.

The district, which is headquartered in Pflugerville, spent $26,959.21 on the three postcards.

The first postcard included a Q&A about the district and the tax proposition, as well as information about voting dates and locations.

The complaint addresses two other postcards. One features a close-up image of a penny with a question superimposed: "What if less than this was all that stood between you and the emergency care you needed?" The back describes why the district would put extra tax revenue toward training firefighters in paramedic services.

The other contains a picture of first responders tending to a person on a stretcher and discusses the need for care in the event of a medical emergency. The postcard then talks about the paramedic services the district wants to provide.

Shellaby's complaint, which was filed against the district's board president, Terry Struble, said, "The ESD obviously wants its readers to believe that without a tax increase, emergency care will not be available."

Wood said commentary on why a proposition is needed and what problems it would solve doesn't fly, since such language would encourage people to vote in favor.

The complaint will go to the Texas Ethics Commission. If at least six of eight commissioners vote there's been a violation, the commission can assess a fine, interim executive director Natalia Ashley said.

Since violating election law is also a criminal matter -- a Class A misdemeanor -- local prosecutors could also pursue charges, Ashley said. On the civil side, a person sued in court for breaking election law could have to pay a fine of twice the amount the mailers cost, if found guilty, Wood said.

Shellaby called the amount of money the district spent on the postcards "high" -- especially given that the district was planning on raising sales taxes, he said.

Carlton said the cost of the postcards was reasonable since they were intended to educate voters about the proposition.

By way of comparison, Travis County Emergency Services District No. 4, which placed a successful sales tax proposition on the November 2013 ballot, spent $16,974 on public education materials, Fire Chief Flo Soliz wrote in an email. Soliz's annual budget is a quarter of the size of the Pflugerville emergency services district's.

A political action committee called No New Sales Taxes in Northeast Travis County raised $25,000 to oppose the May 10 proposition, money that paid for consulting firms, mailers and yard signs. Shellaby said the PAC wasn't involved in his complaint, which he filed individually.

Copyright 2014 - Austin American-Statesman