Rangers’ inquiry finds Stickland staffers falsely signed up witnesses

A Texas Rangers investigation released Tuesday found that the staff of state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, filled out witness registration forms for people who were not in the Capitol but that no one committed a prosecutable offense.

House leaders have long said that legislative rules require witnesses who want to participate in a hearing to be in the room. Participants are asked to register through electronic kiosks outside the hearing rooms.

The Rangers’ report is the latest twist in a state investigation that began immediately after an April 30 hearing of the House Transportation Committee. Chairman Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, accused Stickland of breaking the law by listing witnesses who were not in Austin as supporters of his bill to ban red-light cameras. He then ordered Stickland to leave the hearing.

The House General Investigating and Ethics Committee, which launched an inquiry into the hearing and requested help from the Texas Rangers, met for nearly two hours Tuesday, almost entirely in executive session. The closed-door portion of the meeting featured testimony by Rangers involved in the investigation, according to Chairman John Kuempel, R-Seguin.

Kuempel said afterward that the committee members will need time to review the report before deciding the next step.

“The Rangers’ investigation is closed,” Kuempel said. “Ours is still ongoing.”

The committee also voted unanimously to request that the House Administration Committee plan training sessions for members and staffers on House rules and operations.

“I think it is an absolute victory for Rep. Stickland that the DPS investigation is done,” Trey Trainor, Stickland’s lawyer, said after the hearing. He added that he was frustrated that the committee’s investigation wasn’t closed and that Stickland and his staff had been unfairly targeted.

Though Stickland wasn’t at the hearing, he appeared to comment about it on Twitter.

“Texas needs more transparency not more secret meetings,” he tweeted while the committee was in executive session.

Before the session, Stickland had tweeted: “Freeeeeeeeedom!!!!!!”

Asked later about the Rangers’ findings, Trainor said all witnesses registered for the hearing by Stickland staffers knew they were being registered and supported doing so. He disputed that such actions break any rules.

“I find it shocking, the level of investigation that went into this, to criminalize private citizens’ participation in the political process,” Trainor said.

Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, a member of the Ethics Committee, said Stickland’s staff clearly violated the spirit of the rules by signing up people to testify at a hearing when they weren’t at the Capitol.

Origins of the dispute

At issue is what happened April 30 after Stickland used a legislative maneuver to temporarily kill Pickett’s House Bill 2346 — which was geared toward giving Federal Reserve officers authority similar to that of peace officers.

That night, in a House Transportation Committee hearing, Stickland was preparing to present his own bill, HB142, which sought to eliminate red-light cameras. That’s when Pickett accused Stickland of listing witnesses who were not even in Austin.

Pickett called people who allegedly turned in witness cards but weren’t present in Austin. And he asked Stickland to leave the hearing or be escorted out. Stickland left the room, with a House sergeant-at-arms following him.

Kuempel referred the case to the Department of Public Safety.

“This is about one guy who was mad I killed his bill who took the opportunity to attack me in public and kill my bill,” Stickland said in May.

Continuing debate

Stickland, known as a firebrand in the House, drew attention and criticism starting on the first day of the 84th Legislature, when he was among the few House members who didn’t support incumbent Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, for House speaker.

Throughout the session, he filed high-profile bills touching on issues ranging from constitutional carry to red-light cameras that didn’t gain traction. And he used his time at the back microphone in the House to scuttle countless bills.

The dispute with Pickett didn’t end when the issue was turned over to the DPS.

The investigation continued through the end of the session, as did heated exchanges between Pickett and Stickland.

Staff writer Anna M. Tinsley contributed to this report.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Rangers’ inquiry finds Stickland staffers falsely signed up witnesses."