To help keep elections in Texas open and transparent, every campaign and political action committee (PAC) must publicly report all donations and expenditures at least twice a year. When actively involved in an election, the number of required public reports increases to help the voters stay informed.
But these political financial reports are based on the honor system. Unless an opponent or concerned citizen files a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission, no one in our government checks to see if any of the reports are even remotely accurate.
A few weeks ago, I was researching a current office holder and went scrolling through her campaign financial reports to see how she spent her campaign funds. I came across a PAC she routinely donated to named the Baptist Ministers’ Association of Houston & Vicinity PAC.
I had never heard of this PAC, so I looked it up on the Texas Ethics Commission site. I found that the PAC has been around since Jan. 15, 1997….but…something REALLY FISHY has been going on since Dr. Max A Miller, Jr. took over the position of PAC Treasurer on Aug. 13, 2009.
With him in charge of the books, since 2010 the PAC has reported over:
...$187,000.00 in donations …
...ZERO expenditures…
...and only $500.00 left in the bank.
That can’t be brushed off as simple mathematical calculation errors.
I doubt I am the only person who wants to ask the question:
"Pastor Miller, where did all that money go?"
When I found such a huge discrepancy, I filed a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission. Because of the 24 month statute of limitations on campaign finance reports, I could only question Dr. Miller’s lack of reporting on the funds donated since mid- 2019 - about $33,000.00.
It appears Texas law will never make him go back and report what he did with the $154,000.00 donated before 2019.
But at least the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) responded to my complaint. According to the copy of the letter I received via email, TEC has given Dr. Miller 10 days to respond.
You can view the PAC’s financial reports yourself online at:
Jaspersoft: By_Filer_Name (state.tx.us)
If you have trouble maneuvering the website, the PAC’s Filer ID is #00018745 – use this link and cut and paste their ID #:
Texas Ethics Commission Search CF (state.tx.us)
Colleen Vera
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