State Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney and Ken Paxton. Lock them both up
On Friday … State Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, filed a bill that would give her husband, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, more regulatory power, including the ability to issue exemptions from securities regulations — a felony under state law that Ken Paxton was charged with in 2015.
In other words … Ken Paxton, a statewide official accused of violating state securities law, would be empowered to decide who would not have to follow that law, a power he’d receive under legislation proposed by his wife.
Senate Bill 860 would grant broad powers to the attorney general’s consumer protection division, allowing it to accept or reject entrepreneurial applicants who seek to hawk innovative products outside of the state’s current regulations.
Angela Paxton’s office says that the legislation is aimed at strengthening consumer protections in the under-regulated, ever-changing financial tech industry. Her office also said that constituents from the district first flagged the issue.
But skeptics say the bill’s optics problem is shocking. “It sounds like one of the more blatantly unethical acts I’ve seen recently,” one longtime ethics lawyer told Platoff. He said it would “almost certainly” influence Ken Paxton’s trial.
https://mailchi.mp/a42edbb16223/the-brief-state-sen-angela-paxton-files-eyebrow-raising-bill-hundreds-of-migrants-at-piedras-negras-face-unclear-future?e=f14c8116c8