Across the 10 states included in Transparency USA’s database, several prominent women dominated donor lists in the 2020 election cycle. Some, like Karla Jurvetson and Deborah Simon, targeted key state-level elections across multiple swing states. Others focused their contributions closer to home, supporting candidates and PACs in their state of residence. While Transparency USA focuses on state-level campaign finance, all of these women have supported federal candidates and causes as well. See those contributions here.

This article is Part 3 of a four-part series demonstrating how the money in a lobby sector can impact state politics and legislation. We’ve selected the Green Energy sector due to a resurgence of interest in a behind-the-scenes look at renewables following the 2021 snowstorms, but you can follow the money in any industry of interest that is spending lobbying dollars in Austin.

Now that lawmakers have convened in Austin, private citizens and PACs are no longer able to make political contributions, so the sole financial influence on lawmakers during the legislative session comes from lobbyists. In fact, in session and out, lobbying is by far the biggest source of money in Texas politics — and taxpayers are footing the bill for a lot of it. This look at the City of Houston is the first installment in our series analyzing the top taxpayer-funded entities in Texas.