After resigning his seat earlier this year, former chairman of the powerful Texas House State Affairs Committee Chris Paddie—a top architect of the Legislature’s response to the deadly winter 2021 grid failures—has registered as a lobbyist, state filings show. Paddie has disclosed his work for several clients, most notably Vistra, the state’s biggest power company and a major player in the ongoing energy policy battle that began in the committee he recently helmed.
Though many other Texans have gone straight from public office into private sector lobbying, Paddie’s case is unique in that it poses a direct challenge to an untested revolving door law. Passed in 2019, it’s one of the state’s few restrictions on a former elected official’s otherwise unfettered ability to cash in on insider access and legislative expertise.
By registering as a lobbyist, Paddie could be running afoul of this state ethics law, which already thwarted his initial attempt to lobby earlier this year. In 2019, the Legislature passed a law that prohibits former lawmakers from becoming registered lobbyists within two years of making political contributions to other politicians from their campaign accounts.
