Texas House Ethics Committee to Meet for First Time Since Paxton Impeachment

Texas House of Representatives (Nexstar/Maggie Glynn)

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas House Ethics Committee will meet publicly for the first time since its seismic votes last year that led to the impeachment of Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.

A notice was issued Monday announcing that the Texas Committee of General Investigation will hold a hearing on July 17 at 11 a.m. The agenda contains no information about what the five-member committee will discuss, only generalizing that they will “consider committee business” and possibly meet in closed session to discuss in executive session. Many committees, however, have announced hearings in the coming weeks, to discuss provisional charges or newly implemented state laws before next year’s regular legislative session.

But the decision remains significant because the House General Investigations Committee has not met since May 28, when its members approved at least a dozen subpoenas related to their investigation of Paxton. Three days before that meeting, the committee shook Texas politics by unanimously agreeing to impeach Paxton after hearing a team of public corruption lawyers detail allegations of misconduct by the three-term Republican official.

Those investigators said they began investigating Paxton in March 2023 after a proposal emerged to use state funds to pay $3.3 million to settle a lawsuit filed by four former employees who accused Paxton of wrongdoing. Testimony from those former employees played a significant role in the Texas Senate’s nearly two-week impeachment trial in September, which ended with state senators voting to acquit Paxton on all articles of impeachment.

That period of controversy fueled Paxton’s “revenge tour” during this spring’s primary elections, as he actively endorsed and campaigned for dozens of candidates to unseat some of the Republican incumbents who supported his impeachment. Reports show that eight of the candidates he endorsed ended up winning their primaries in March, while nine races advanced to runoffs in May.

The last regular legislative session brought a significant boost to the profile of this House committee, which has typically operated quietly and attracted little attention in years past. According to Texas House rules, its responsibilities focus on scrutinizing “workplace conduct and inappropriate workplace conduct to ensure that members, officers and employees can exercise their rights and responsibilities under these rules and policies.”

In addition to the high-profile investigation of Paxton last year, the same committee reviewed a complaint against Texas Rep. Bryan Slaton that led to his expulsion from the House. The lower chamber voted unanimously in early May 2023 to oust the Republican lawmaker over allegations he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 19-year-old female staffer. A report released by the committee detailed Slaton exhibiting inappropriate behavior with the aide.

Slaton became the first state representative to be expelled from the Texas House since 1927.

Given the high-profile work he did during the last regular legislative session, many eyes will undoubtedly be on the next committee hearing to see what might come of it.

The agenda for the committee’s next meeting, which will take place in just over two weeks, indicates that the committee is expected to be chaired by its chairman, Republican Rep. Andrew Murr of Junction. After Paxton’s acquittal last fall, Murr announced in November that he would not seek reelection to the post he has held for a decade. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family.