Local governments fail to post campaign finance reports online, violating state law

SAN JUAN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — More than a year after Texas required local governments to make campaign finance reports available online, many small towns and school districts still aren’t complying with the law.

Candidates in San Juan, where seven people are running for three seats on the City Commission, spent roughly $20,000 from January to April, according to campaign finance reports filed on April 3.

The city, however, didn’t make the reports available online.

“The last time I went in there and spoke with the city secretary, I did remind her that they need to go ahead and upload those reports,” said Mayor Mario Garza. “Because, obviously, it is the law now.”

City Secretary Brenda Escalante said San Juan is working to comply with the law and plans to post the reports as soon as possible.

San Juan City Commissioner Ernesto “Neto” Guajardo, who is running against Garza for mayor, couldn’t be reached for comment.

THE LAW

House Bill 2626, which became law on Sept. 1, 2023, required local governments in Texas to make campaign finance reports available online.

“I’ve been around politics most of my adult life,” state Rep. Carl Tepper, R-Lubbock, who authored the bill, told CBS 4 News in 2023. “And I found it frustrating that I was not able to find the campaign finance reports of local elected officials on the web.”

The Texas Ethics Commission, the Texas Municipal League and the Texas Association of School Boards all published information about the new law.

“The new Internet posting requirement applies to all entities that receive campaign finance reports, including counties, cities, school districts, hospital districts, library districts, utility districts, water districts, etc.,” according to an advisory published by the Ethics Commission on Sept. 25, 2023. “The campaign reports must be posted within 10 business days of receipt and remain on the political subdivision’s website for five years after the report is first made available.”

Many small towns and school districts apparently didn’t get the message.

Few school districts employ an elections expert, said attorney Gus Acevedo of Pharr, who represents local governments.

“The elections person will be somebody in the business office — it just kind of gets dumped on them,” Acevedo said. “Or maybe the public information officer.”

Small towns suffer from similar problems.

“And the turnover tends to be higher in the smaller cities,” Acevedo said. “So it may not be the same person every year.”

The law doesn’t include any penalty for a local government that fails to post campaign finance reports online.

PROGRESO

Neither the city of Progreso nor the Progreso Independent School District followed the law in 2024.

The city of Progreso, which held elections in June 2024 and November 2024, didn’t post any campaign finance reports online.

Progreso fired Alfredo Espinosa, who served as city manager during both election cycles, in December.

Progreso ISD, which held a school board election in May 2024, didn’t post campaign finance reports either.

It also failed to post any campaign finance reports for the May 2025 election cycle.

Progreso ISD didn't know about the law, said Superintendent Sergio Coronado, and plans to post the campaign finance reports online as soon as possible.

LA GRULLA

In 2024, when the mayor of La Grulla resigned, the city held a special election.

Candidates filed campaign finance reports with Starr County — not the city.

“I believe that the City Hall told them to turn them in to us,” said Starr County Elections Administrator Armandina Martinez.

While candidates are supposed to submit campaign finance reports to the city, not the county, Starr County decided to post them online as a courtesy.

“That’s interesting,” said attorney Ric Gonzalez of Edinburg, who represents local governments. “Basically, they don’t know what they’re doing.”

Concerns about where to submit campaign finance reports became moot in 2025 — because nobody filed any.

Eight people decided to run for La Grulla City Commission in May. They littered the city with signs, set up tents and spent months campaigning.

Neither the city nor the county, though, had received any campaign finance reports by April 30, according to Martinez and La Grulla City Manager Roberto A. Salinas.

“I haven’t received any, so I haven’t posted any,” Salinas said.

Candidates who accept or spend more than $1,110 are required to submit campaign finance reports during the election cycle.

“Starr County is a different part of the world, buddy, and you know that,” said City Commissioner Andy Hernandez, who is running for mayor.

Nobody in Starr County pays attention to campaign finance reports anyway, Hernandez said, because candidates don’t report what they actually spend.

“That’s only the tip of the iceberg,” Hernandez said, adding that La Grulla had much bigger problems than campaign finance reports.

Mayor Macario “Callo” Villarreal III, who is running against Hernandez, couldn’t be reached for comment.