<\/p>\n
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a \u201cGet out the Vote\u201d event at Cypress Trail Hideout in Cypress on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. State contractors give millions to Abbott, creating a perception of corruption that most states and the federal government do not allow.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shakes hands with supporters at a GOP \u201cGet out the Vote\u201d event at Cypress Trail Hideout in Cypress on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. State contractors give millions to Abbott, creating a perception of corruption that most states and the federal government do not allow.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa speaks at a Powered by People rally in support of voting rights at the Texas Capitol in Austin. Hinojosa has promised to make corruption her main issue while running for governor.<\/p>\n
Sophie Park for The San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Companies looking to score contracts with the state of Texas would do well to have at least one of three things: a billionaire benefactor, a well-connected lobbyist or a fat checkbook.<\/p>\n
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Texas hired a New York education-technology\u00a0firm<\/a> to administer the new school voucher program last week, which entitles it to a 5% cut of every tax dollar spent on private schools. Unsurprisingly, the contract went to Odyssey, a for-profit company that previously received a\u00a0$500,000 grant<\/a> from Jeff Yass, a billionaire investor and gambler from Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Last year, Yass gave Gov. Greg Abbott $6 million to help push a school voucher program through the Legislature, and he attended the bill\u2019s signing ceremony. While\u00a0Yass has no known financial interest in Odyssey, the company is backed by venture capital firm Andreessen\u00a0Horowitz. Fund founder Marc Andreesen and Yass are part of a consortium that President Donald Trump chose to take over TikTok<\/a> in the United States.<\/p>\n Odyssey also hired lobbyist Luis Saenz, a former Abbott chief of staff and one of the most influential players in Austin, to advocate for the deal.<\/p>\n Thanks to some of the world\u2019s loosest ethics laws<\/a>, Texas politicians routinely receive six or seven-digit campaign contributions<\/a> from people making money off the state. Donors may give as much as they want to a campaign, and few politicians worry about the appearance of impropriety.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The governor, who routinely accepts million-dollar checks from billionaires, sets the tone. Over three decades in politics, Abbott has broken fund-raising records, using his immense campaign war chest to intimidate and crush rivals. He currently has about $90 million in the bank<\/a>.<\/p>\n No-bid contracts<\/p>\n A recent study from nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen<\/a> found how corporate executives, their spouses and political action committees gave Abbott $2.9 million either before or soon after winning 89 no-bid emergency contracts between 2020 and 2024 worth over $950 million.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re not going to allege actual evidence of insider dealing or impropriety that would rise to any kind of a legal issue,\u201d Adrian Shelley, Public Citizen\u2019s Texas director, told me. \u201cWhat we’re really trying to do here is not indict the governor, but rather the kind of pay-to-play system that most people understand to be pervasive in Texas and the weak laws and regulations that have led it to exist.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said the governor\u2019s office has nothing to do with such contracts. State procurement officers and the comptroller\u2019s office handle them.<\/p>\n \u201cOur office is not involved in the contracting process; this is just Public Citizen finding a very tenuous connection and trying to make the governor look bad,\u201d he told me.<\/p>\n Texas law generally requires companies to competitively bid<\/a> for state contracts. But if the governor declares an emergency, officials may bypass bidding requirements to save lives and property.<\/p>\n Abbott has kept Texas under one disaster declaration or another for years, which has led to some companies receiving dozens of contracts and some questionable behavior.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIn one example, the number of a company\u2019s non-competitive contract awards decreased, the company\u2019s founder made several contributions to Texans for Greg Abbott PAC, and the flow of contract awards resumed,\u201d the Public Citizen report said.<\/p>\n New laws needed<\/p>\n Whether you believe the governor or not, the perception of corruption can be as corrosive<\/a> as actual bribery. The federal government and 15 states have strict regulations on government contractors making political donations to avoid looking bad.<\/p>\n Public Citizen called on the Legislature to ban no-bid contracts to companies whose PACs, officers and immediate family members have made significant and recent political donations. The group also called for more transparency and legislative oversight over no-bid contracts.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n I\u2019d go further and adopt the federal law<\/a> banning government contractors from contributing to any candidate. And while we\u2019re at it, maybe cap campaign donations; Abbott took<\/a> four $1-million checks in June alone.<\/p>\n I asked Mahaleris whether the governor would support new laws to curb the appearance of pay-to-play in Texas. He said he\u2019d get back to me, but I didn\u2019t hear from him before deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of cases where restrictions that apply to legislators do not apply to the executive. And there have been plenty of cases of state lawmakers putting out bills that would just extend the existing protections to the executive branch,\u201d Shelley said. \u201cThose don’t pass.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Abbott delivered the school voucher bill that megadonor Yass wanted<\/a>, but it cost him. The UT\/Texas Politics Poll showed 50% of Texans disapproved of his job performance in June.<\/a> Democratic State Rep. Gina Hinojosa has promised to make corruption her central\u00a0issue<\/a> while running for governor.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n