From staff reports
San Marcos — The Hays County District Attorney’s Office is looking into whether a newsletter circulated in the Kyle area and a corresponding Web site violated the state’s Elections Code.
According to an investigation by the Kyle Police Department, the “Kyle Klips” printed and online newsletter contained political advertising but “did not contain the required disclosures under the Texas Elections Code, specifically the full name of the person who paid for the advertising or the web site hosting,” said Assistant DA Wes Mau.
The code says political advertising must generally contain that information. Exceptions include small expenditures like campaign buttons or flyers that cost less than $500 to publish and distribute. Violations of the code may result in a civil penalty of up to $4,000 assessed by the Ethics Commission.
Mau said Kyle police initially received the complaint and conducted an initial probe that was forwarded to the DA’s office, but that there is “some additional investigation” still to be done.
“We’re not certain what we’re going to do until we’ve got as much information as we can get, but we re looking into it,” he said, and continuing to work with Kyle police.
Mau said if the cases proceeds it could result in either criminal or civil charges, but that the Ethics Commission will make the final determination.
“The Ethics Commission could decide to do nothing, or they could issue a civil fine or return it to the DA’s office for a criminal investigation,” he said, declining to name any individuals that might be charged.
“It’s not appropriate at this time,” he said. When asked how many individuals are being investigated, Mau said “at least one,” but added, “it’s hard to say. I have no way of knowing the outer limit.”
Mau said the case is the first of its type to be brought to his office in the dozen years he has been a county prosecutor; but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been similar ones.
“Cases can be taken to the Ethics Commission without going through the DA’s office, so I don’t know if it’s the first in Hays County in the 12 years I’ve been here. It’s just the first I’ve been made aware of.”
